SPRINGVILLE, Ala. - An Alabama high school graduate doesn't appear in her yearbook after wearing a tuxedo top for her senior portrait, instead of the black drape female students usually wear.
Holley Gerelds tweeted that she was left out of the Springville High yearbook "because I'm a lesbian who wanted to wear a tux instead of a drape."
The 18-year-old paid $25 and posed for her senior class portrait, but the yearbooks delivered last week list her as "not pictured," with her name misspelled.
She said she doesn't want to cause trouble, and just wants people to be educated. She tells WTVM that "life is hard enough, do what makes you happy!"
The principal apologized. St. Clair County Superintendent Mike Howard said the yearbook page will be reprinted and policies will be reevaluated.
"I felt like me," Holley Gerelds said of her decision to wear a tux instead of a drape for her senior portraits.
— WVTM 13 (@WVTM13) August 16, 2019
Tonight at 10, hear @MaryWVTM13's interview with @holley__g after learning that decision might have excluded her from Springville High School's yearbook#WVTM13 pic.twitter.com/ShCPdxvPB7