Waukegan High School in Illinois has named a gay student homecoming king and crowned a lesbian homecoming queen, the Lake County News-Sun reports.
Eric Irizarry, a cheerleader and lifeguard, and Ariana Reiff, who has set her sights on becoming a veterinarian, both told the newspaper that they were surprised they won their respective titles.
While there were some naysayers, Reiff says, fellow students voted for her and Irizarry not because of their sexuality, but because their classmates appreciated them for who they are.
The News-Sun report quotes the director of the school’s Washington campus as saying that its students are “very accepting of each other’s differences” and that the issue of sexual orientation is something adults are more likely to focus on than teenagers.
The crowning of Reiff and Irizarry follows that of a transgender student in New Hampshire who was chosen homecoming king of Concord High School.
Ray Ramsey, 17, who came out as transgender in his junior year, told the Concord Monitor that both his home and high school have been supportive environments.
Last month, another transgender high schooler, Cassidy Lynn Campbell, was voted homecoming queen of Marina High School in Huntington Beach.
Why you can trust Xtra
