More than fourty past and present students at St Mary's Anglican
Girls School have confronted authorities after the rule was
imposed.
But, according to the Herald Sun newspaper, school bosses are
refusing to back down and have told them that bringing a same-sex
partner to the school ball is "inappropriate".
The case has similarities to the Constance McMillen saga, which
saw her banned from her US school prom - then sent to a fake
alternative.
So far, 458 people have joined the campaign group's page on
social networking site Facebook.
Entitled St. Mary's Anglican Girls School Diversity, the page
describes itself as "a group for past and present
St Mary's Students to talk about diversity, acceptance and
tolerance within the school community."
On it, administrators claim they have recently
turned down the offer of appearing on breakfast news show Sunrise.
The news marks the increasing interest the story is generating both
at home and abroard.
Now, Equal Opportunity Commissioner Yvonne Henderson said the
school could be breaching the Equal Opportunities Act by
discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
"Our stance is the Act and the Act makes it quite clear that it
is unlawful," she told The Herald.
The school has yet to formally comment.
