Girl crowned prom king at a Las Vegas high school
Skyler Galliher, a female student at Centennial High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, was recently crowned prom king. Skyler said, “I’m thrilled. I’m so excited to be prom king.” However, her excitement was not shared by everyone.
As reported by KVVU Fox 5 News, Galliher was talking with her friend, Summer Brother, who expressed an interest in becoming prom queen. “I was like, ‘Oh well, she’s going to win so I’m not even going to try that.’ And she was like, ‘Well you should run with me.’ And I was like, ‘As what?’ And we’re like, ‘As prom king.’ And it turned out as a joke.”
Skyler told the station that her gender-neutral name helped her land a spot on the ballot, but later officials added more male candidates to offset any votes she would get. There was a group of parents and students who felt that tradition wasn’t being honored and they, according to KVVU, “didn’t like the idea of a straight girl running as prom king.” It was then that the race became a bigger issue.
What started as a joke became something more serious and more significant to Galliher and Brother. Brother said, "Once people were getting angry, I was like, ‘Wow, this is really like a big deal to some people.' And so I was just like, ‘We should definitely just go all out and really try to win this thing.'"
Skyler answered her critics citing tradition during an interview with Mix 94.1 FM. Galliher said, “There hasn’t been a female president yet, but does that mean it’s subjected to guys. Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean that it can’t.” She added that the school district actually didn’t have a policy prohibiting a girl from running for prom king.
During that radio interview, Sklyer mentioned another motivation. She told the DJs that another female student, who happened to be openly gay, was trying to run for king. But officials wouldn’t let her run, something she and Skyler thought was not right and, “a little harsh.”
The girls campaigned for votes and with their dates’ support, were both crowned on prom night. In fact, Skyler won “pretty handily,” according to what a teacher told her.
Jeff Galliher, Skyler’s father said this is just one example of his daughter’s convictions. "She always stands for something. You know, Skyler always, she has very strong ideals and ideas about what's right and what's wrong," Mr. Galliher said. The win was meaningful beyond her crown as Skyler told the station, "It turns out I motivated a lot of students at my school, and that's what made me want to do it even more."
Video, audio and more info: KVVU, Mix 94.1 FM
