BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS: Uncivil war over girl's Confederate prom dress

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, December 22, 2004

[JohnHuang2]

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

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BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
Uncivil war over girl's Confederate prom dress
Teen says district violated her 1st Amendment right to free speech

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Posted: December 22, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern

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© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Jacqueline Duty in her prom dress (Photo: Lexington Herald-Leader).

A high-school senior who was barred from her prom because she showed up wearing a self-designed sequined dress patterned after the Confederate flag has filed suit, claiming her First Amendment rights were violated.

Jacqueline Duty came to the Russell High School prom May 1 wearing the dress and was told to leave, according to a report in the Lexington, Ky., Herald-Leader.

School officials had gotten wind that she would wear the gown and, her lawyers say, wouldn't even let her leave her vehicle.

"Her only dance for her senior prom was on the sidewalk to a song playing on the radio," Earl-Ray Neal, her lawyer, told the local paper.

Duty is suing not only on First Amendment grounds, but for defamation, false imprisonment and assault. The suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

Showing a news conference the controversial dress on Monday, Duty defended her actions.

"I wanted to show part of my Southern heritage," she said. The Herald-Leader reports she had worked on the dress' design for four years and that she said it had always been her dream to wear a Confederate-themed dress to her senior prom.

While Duty acknowledges some people are offended by the Confederate flag, she says that's no reason to bar her from expressing herself.

"Everyone has their own opinion," she said. "But that's not mine. I'm proud of where I came from and my background."

According to the report, the Sons of Confederate Veterans have agreed to help pay some of Duty's legal costs.

Duty, 19, who now attends Shawnee State University in Ohio, says the principal warned her not to wear the dress, but she didn't have another one available. She decided to go to the promo anyway in hopes officials would change their minds.

The lawsuit claims the principal, Sean Howard, and two police officers met Duty outside the school.

"Howard intimidated (Duty) by physically striking the vehicle in which she was sitting," the lawsuit said.

Duty says she was surprised by the tough stance taken against her.

"We've all worn Confederate flags to school before," she told the paper.

Her lawyer said Duty lost many scholarships because she was portrayed as a racist after the incident.

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[Dont Mention the War]

One would think that false imprisonment and assault would be criminal charges as well, not just civil. The only way this sort of crap is going to stop is if we use the only avenue of recourse left to us: the judicial system. And use it as if it were a nuclear weapon. Sue for sums so large they could bring the school district to its knees. Sue as many individuals as possible, and sue them as individuals, not just in their capacities as government employees. Wherever possible, file criminal charges. Get as many news organizations as possible to cover the story, both conservative-oriented and MSM, and name and shame all individuals involved. Make the lives of everyone who wronged you a living hell of subpoenas and accusations. Only after the fear of God is put into these people will they start to think twice before violating students' Constitutional rights.

[cyborg]

Well dang *lol*

[Nataku X]

Not a fan of the Confederate flag, but the way she did it was so tasteful, not in your face at all. It was certainly less offensive than all the other crap going on at proms, and if she is correct that she was allowed to wear a Confederate flag to school, she should sue them for way more than 50K. She'll never get scholarships nor will she get accepted into private schools now.

[risk]

Where are your manners, boy?

[Petronski]

good thing she isn't a liberal or people would be making fun of those ham hock arms

Sometimes, all I can say is 'wow.' Just, wow.

[KneelBeforeZod]

FReeper conundrum.... what if some kid was wearing his pants off his ass as so many young morons do these day... but he was sporting stars and bars boxers?

hmmm ;o)

[BJungNan]

She should have retained a proper attorney. Damages claimed were low by at least a factor of 100.

If she lost scholarships, you are certainly correct.

[GVnana]

Yep. When you look at it, she did a beautiful job. That kind of skill should be respected.

[Petronski]

Another Twiggy lover, eh?

[cyborg]

Ah ha! Hmmmmm...

[Jaysun]

I have nothing against the Confederate flag, but boy is she fat. I mean, FAT.

Whataya talking about? She's not exactly beautiful, but I'd choose her over some Karen Carpenter type that's so thin that she has to run around in the shower just to get wet.

[risk]

She's beautiful. Her smile obviously lights up any room.

[Nataku X]

You two get cookies for defending curves. LOL

[BigCinBigD]

"Everyone has their own opinion," she said. "But that's not mine. I'm proud of where I came from and my background."

God bless her. I hope she wins her case.

[cyborg]

I originally commented on another thread that the dress made her look very big. Now I regret saying that because no matter what she does, people will always have something to say. Now if you don't like big girls then that's your own personal choice. Just remember who would and wouldn't get rug burns on the a$$ after sex. Good night.

[Jaysun]

You two get cookies for defending curves. LOL

I'd like eight please.....mmmm.....curves......

[Petronski]

Curvy good. Angular bad. Bony scary.


Send the cookies to Annie Coulter.

[Jaysun]

OK....I may lose my cookies for this, but I have to get this off of my chest:

Who smeared her makeup on, Stevie Wonder? For Pete's sake (is it Pete's sake or pea sake, who knows) her cheeks are caked in red lipstick and her eyebrow makeup creates a heavy Neanderthal brow effect.

[cyborg]

Ann is strange. I like her but she's getting a bit Lara Flynn Boyle-ish.

[Nataku X]

Funny--never noticed a thing wrong with her makeup before... it is hard to do blondes without overdoing it, though... you have to have well-defined eyebrows, eyelashes, and lips--with blondes, that's a hard balance to strike.

She sure needs about 10-15 pounds of cookies though.