Before Canceled Prom, School Suspended Queer Student

The Mississippi high school that canceled the prom rather than allow Constance McMillen to attend with her girlfriend suspended a queer student earlier this year.

Dan Savage at The Stranger reviews the experience of Juin Baize, who moved to Fulton this year with his family and attended Itawamba Agricultural High School for less than one day.

"The other students wouldn't be given a chance to get used to him: the next time Baize came to school, according Kristy Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi, Baize was given a suspension notice and sent home," writes Savage. "When Juin returned to school after his first suspension, he was suspended again."

Juin, who uses male pronouns, wanted to attend school dressed in feminine clothing. The school never listed an official reason for his suspension, not even after repeated requests from the ACLU. Juin moved to Florida over the weekend because of increasing harassment against him and his family, a move that helps him but makes it unlikely the ACLU can pursue his case, says Savage.