A Tale of Two Homecoming Princes

It's like a fairy tale, albeit a modern one: students in Davis, Calif. have elected two young men to be their Homecoming Prince and Prince.

Brandon Raphael and Kiernan Gatewood, both 16, were elected by students of Davis Senior High School, according to an article posted Friday by the Monterey County Herald, and participated in the school's homecoming festivities, including the parade, wearing sashes proclaiming them each a "Prince," which is the title granted to juniors. ("King" and "Queen" are titles reserved for seniors.)

Said Gatewood of their election, a few weeks ago, "People were so excited for us."

Added Gatewood, "We were a little surprised, but Davis ..."

Raphael, Gatewood's boyfriend, finished the sentence, "Is a liberal town."

Added Raphael, "Go 10 miles in any other direction and you'll get some other feeling."

Said the Gay-Straight Alliance Network's Lai-San Seto of the boys' election, "It's a sign that LGBTQ people are getting recognized everywhere,"

Said Seto, who is the advocacy coordinator for the San Francisco-based Alliance, "LGBTQ are considered vital members of the school community and are able to participate in school events in the same full way that their straight fellow students are able to."

Though such developments often result in an outcry from anti-gay organizations, no such controversy has arisen in the case of the two Homecoming Princes.

Unusual, too, is a school's administration permitting students to elect to boys to be Homecoming Princes; according to the school's students, the win by Gatewood and Raphael was not the unexpected part so much as the acceptance of their election by the school's officials.

Quipped Raphael, "I thought the administration would have more to say about it."

The school's principal, Michael Cawley, would not comment, other than to say that he wanted the development to remain "low-key," according to the Herald article.

Students felt otherwise, celebrating the win at the parade with gusto.

Said the school's Gay-Straight Alliance's co-president, Chandler Fox, "I think it's just such a good thing for our school."

Added Fox, "Just knowing that the other kids recognize them as a couple and would vote for a gay couple to be prince and prince of homecoming" is "awesome."

Added Fox, "I want people to know about it so maybe it can happen at another school."

A parent, Lorna Bernard, found the news surprising, said the story, but more because when she was a student, gays would have been rebuked.

However, the boys, she said, have such standing among their peers that they are "not just accepted, they're popular--popular enough to be elected as homecoming princes."

Raphael and Gatewood said that they worked hard on their campaign, but not because they wanted to be heroes to the GLBT community. Rather, said Raphael, "We wanted to be nominated and win."

"Just like anybody else," Gatewood, who has been Raphael's boyfriend for four months, completed the thought.