Royal yes to diversity at Davis Senior High

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the royalty of Davis Senior High School's junior class: Brandon Raphael and his prince, Kiernan Gatewood.

For what appears to be the first time in school history, the Davis Senior High student body has elected a gay couple into homecoming royalty. With each boasting a white sash declaring his title as "Prince," the two 16-year-olds rode through the city of Davis Friday afternoon in the school's annual homecoming parade. They stood in the back of a pickup truck, arm-in-arm, smiling warmly despite the rain.

"People were so excited for us," Gatewood said of the couple's victory, announced a few weeks ago. "We were a little surprised, but Davis ..."
"Is a liberal town," interrupts his boyfriend of four months, Raphael. "Go 10 miles in any other direction and you'll get some other feeling."
Indeed, the news might surprise few in Davis, a city embraced and, at times, mocked for its liberal leanings. But students and adults cheering on the boys recognized their election as a meaningful milestone. Lai-San Seto, advocacy coordinator for the San Francisco-based Gay-Straight Alliance Network, said the Davis Senior High homecoming election is not the first case of gay students bucking tradition. But it remains far from the norm, Seto said.



In the weeks since officials announced the homecoming court, there's been no public outcry -- not by campus leaders, not by students and not by the community. Students said they were encouraged that the election was not an issue for campus administrators. They said they were less surprised that a gay couple would win than they were that officials allowed it to happen.

Decked out in Davis Senior High's colors of blue and black, sophomore Charlotte ter Haar and two friends agreed that the election was significant because it came straight from the students -- Raphael and Gatewood won in a write-in ballot election. Couples could campaign for their class titles -- king and queen for seniors, prince and prince(ss?) for juniors, etc. -- but no names appeared on the ballot. Students wrote in their own candidates. "The students voted for who they wanted to win," ter Haar said.

Parent Lorna Bernard said she was taken aback by the news -- only because in her day, a gay couple stood to be harassed by their peers, not elected. But Raphael and Gatewood, she said, are "not just accepted, they're popular -- popular enough to be elected as homecoming princes."
And that, she said, is "really cool."
As for the boys, they said they campaigned hard in anticipation of the election. But their goal, they said, was not to make a political statement. "We wanted to be nominated and win," Raphael said. Added Gatewood: "Just like anybody else."