Holley Gerelds wanted to wear a tuxedo for her senior yearbook portrait.
The photographer did not mind, she recalled. Her smiling face is proof.
“I’ve worn suits for as long as I can remember. I wear them to school,” the 18-year-old, who is a lesbian, told BuzzFeed News. “I’ve always worn masculine clothing, it’s just what I’m more comfortable in and I feel like it expresses me more.”
The photo session went off without a hitch, and she paid and left. She was heartbroken when she opened her yearbook for the first time to find her picture and realized it was not included. Instead, she was listed under the “not pictured” section, and her last name was spelled wrong.
Gerelds, who just graduated from Springville High in Alabama, said she’d heard rumors that her photo might get cut.
Gerelds was upset and felt like she’s been discriminated against for being a lesbian, she said.
“I know that’s kind of shocking to some people because I live in the Deep South in the Bible Belt, but other than a few dirty looks when I go out, I’ve never received any discrimination or hate from my school or my city or even the state of Alabama as a whole,” she said.
Gerelds tweeted about what happened, and there was a massive outcry against the school.
“It is so sad that in 2019 a PUBLIC high school thinks it’s okay to discriminate against an LGBT student like this,” one person tweeted. “Shame on you, Springville High School in Alabama.”
The public shaming was effective. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, St. Clair County Schools Superintendent Mike Howard said the yearbook page would be reprinted with Gerelds’ photo (and correct name spelling).
“I understand that the senior portraits taken at Springville High School during the last school year were taken following long-standing school guidelines,” Howard said. “We are in the process of re-evaluating those guidelines to consider what changes, if any, need to be made.”
Gerelds’ photo will also be included in a yearbook of her entire class, which will be hung in the halls as per school tradition.
“I can confirm that the composite photograph of the Springville High School Class of 2019 will include all students that participated in the senior portrait process, regardless of their choice of attire,” Howard said.
Gerald said she’s happy with the outcome.
“I guess it’s enough for me because I just wanted to be in the yearbook with my classmates and to be on that wall, but it’s not enough if it happens to someone else,” she said. “That’s why I’m happy to be speaking out about it, because I don’t want anyone else to go through this.”