Ceara Sturgis is a 17-year-old senior at Wesson Attendance Center in Jackson, Mississippi. She is the goalie on the school’s soccer team, plays the trumpet and is an honor student.

Photo by KnOizki (Flickr)

She is also gay and hasn’t tried to hide it. For her senior yearbook photo she wants to wear a tuxedo, not a dress. Her mother said she doesn’t even own a dress. The school is against breaking tradition but is on notice from the ACLU that legal action will be taken if her rights are violated. No response from the school has been reported yet.

Ceara issued the following statement: “I feel like I’m not important, that the school is dismissing who I am as a gay student and that they don’t even care about me. All I want is to be able to be me, and to be included in the yearbook.”

Update: After receiving a letter from the ACLU, Ceara’s school has continued to refuse to include the senior photo in the yearbook since Ceara is wearing a tuxedo. It is unknown at this time whether a lawsuit against the school will  be filed.

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