14 DAY TRIAL // You would expect the king and the queen of any prom to be a pair formed by a man and a woman, but things were a bit different at the Centennial High School’s prom this weekend in Nevada, as this year's king post was actually won by a girl.
Skyler Galliher decided to run for prom king this year along with other male candidates, and she was able to walk away with the crown despite not having everyone's support.
The high school student says the idea came to her when her friend Summer Brother expressed her 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 said, ‘As what?’ And we both said, ‘As prom king.’ And it started out as a joke,” Skyler said, as cited by Yahoo News.
Apparently, her gender-neutral first name helped her get on the ballot, as initially school's officials didn't realize her gender.
However, her attempt to run for prom king stirred up a lot of controversy. As such, when teachers found out she was a girl, they added more male names on the list in a bid to offset any votes she would receive.
Moreover, some parents and students were also against her “candidacy” for the prom king spot, as they believed it was against tradition. But it was their reluctance and disapproval that made the race even more significant to Galliher and Brother.
“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,’” Brother said.
Skyler and Summer both won their respective elections, but they did not go to the prom together, as the girls each had their own dates, who supported their campaign.
During an interview with local radio station Mix 94.1 FM, Galliher explained that the school didn't actually have a policy prohibiting female students to run for prom king, so her application was legit and could not be disqualified.
“I’m thrilled. I’m so excited to be prom king. There hasn’t been a female president yet, but does that mean it’s subjected to guys,” the girl said during the interview. “Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean that it can’t.”