Lesbian student elected homecoming king in California
Rebeca Arellano, a senior at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, Calif., was voted homecoming king this year.
Students at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, Calif., chose two girls to be their homecoming king and queen this weekend, ABC News reports.
Senior Rebeca Arellano was named the school’s first female homecoming king on Friday at a pep rally, and her girlfriend of almost two years, Haileigh Adams, won the title of homecoming queen at the dance on Saturday night.
"They were chanting my name, and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had," Arellano told ABC News.
They’ve received some negative feedback. “Anonymous Patrick Henry students are saying they're embarrassed, and that it's wrong for a girl to take the spot of king,” Adams told ABC News. “But there's no other way for us to run as a couple. It's not really fair for us not to have the right to run as a couple.”
The couple’s election to head of the homecoming court is about more than just winning a popularity contest, Arellano told KGTV San Diego.
"Another student that's also a lesbian, she said, ‘We won,’ which was what I wanted," Arellano told KGTV San Diego. "I love Patrick Henry for supporting me."
A Patrick Henry student who identified herself as bisexual told KGTV San Diego, "It makes me think that you can be more open and stuff, and the way the school's reacting to it, like, positively…. It makes you more comfortable in the school, and in your environment."
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