Teen Sues Over Confederate Flag Prom Dress

by The Associated Press: 12.21.04

LEXINGTON, Ky. A teenager is suing her eastern Kentucky school district for barring
her from the prom for wearing a red dress styled as a Confederate flag.
What does the author assume you already know? The author assumes that we know what
suing is and how the process works, and how the confederate flag is and what it represents.

School officials called Jacqueline Dutys homemade dress too controversial and kept her
out of Russell High Schools May 1 prom.
What is the author telling you? The author is telling you why they barred a the teenage girl
from her prom due to her dress, and where the event occurred and when. The name of the
girl.

Dutys federal lawsuit claims the Russell Independent Board of Education violated her
First Amendment right to free speech and her right to celebrate her heritage. She also is
suing for defamation, false imprisonment and assault.
Her only dance for her senior prom was on the sidewalk to a song playing on the radio,
said her lawyer, Earl-Ray Neal.
How does this connect with information the author has already provided? He expands
on the reason for the lawsuit and states how her only dance on her prom night was on the
sidewalk with a song in the radio.

At a news conference in front of the federal courthouse in Lexington yesterday, Duty

acknowledged that some might find the Confederate flag offensive.
Everyone has their own opinion. But thats not mine. Im proud of where I came from
and my background, said the 19-year-old who is now attending Shawnee State
University in Ohio.
She also showed the sequined prom dress.
I wanted to show part of my Southern heritage, she said, adding that she had worked
on the dress design for four years.
How does this connect with information the author has already provided? You can
connect the acknowledgement that Duty came up with, with the fact that she wasnt allowed
into the prom because her action might have been seen as offensive, while all she wanted
was to show how proud she was of her heritage.

Kirk Lyons, one of her lawyers, said Duty waited several months to file the lawsuit
because much of the legal work is being done for free. The Sons of Confederate
Veterans also promised to help pay for some of the legal expenses.
Why do you think the author tells you this information now? He wants you to
acknowledge that she had help to other people, people in higher ranks through the process.
Which means two she wanted to go with the process even though she didnt have the money
and that other people agree with ehr and have the same interests.

Duty says she was told not to wear the dress by school officials shortly before the prom,
and was turned away outside the prom when she asked administrators if they would
change their minds.
The lawsuit says that after the prom, school officials made students wearing
Confederate symbols change or remove the items even though the symbols were not
creating any disruption in the predominantly white high school.
Does this follow with what the author told you before? No, it briefly changes the lead the
text is taking, now it gives you information supporting that she was notified before that it would
not be tolerated for her to use that dress to prom, but anyways she still went ahead and did it.
Officials from the Russell Independent Board of Education and Superintendent Ronnie
Back did not return phone calls seeking comment for this article.
Why do you think the author tells you this information now? I think the author is trying to
tell you that this comes from one side of the story, the teen girls side.

Federal court opinions on the display of the Confederate flag on clothing at public
schools have been mixed.
In 2002, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a case involving another
Kentucky student.
Did the author explain this clearly? No
What could the author have done to clarify this?
He should have said how opinions are mixed about the use of the Confederate flag in
schools. He should expand on the subject of the appeals in a Kentucky school in 2002,
because the reader feels cut short in information which is confusing. Also the author should
explain what 6th Circuit is.
In 1997, Timothy Castorina was suspended for wearing a T-shirt with a Confederate flag
on it to Madison Central High School. He sued, but a federal judge ruled that T-shirts
were not a form of free speech, and tossed out the case. However, the 6th Circuit
overturned the decision and ordered a new trial.

The case was settled before the second trial began. As part of the settlement, Madison
County revamped its dress-code policy.
How does this connect with information the author has already provided? The author
connects it because he is referring to an older case with similar circumstances, making
acknowledge that this kind of stuff has happened before.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not heard a case over whether a student can wear
Confederate symbols to school.
WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE AUTHORS MESSAGE?
Somebody: Jacqueline Duty
Wanted: She wanted to attend prom wearing a red dress decorated with a confederate flag.
But: The school barred from entering when she arrived dressed up in a dress with the
confederate flag.
So: She decided to sue the school for what they caused her.
Then: The case was settled before the second trial, the Madison county had to change their
school dress code policy.
Summary: Jacqueline Duty decided to wear to her prom a dress themed as the confederate
flag, but she couldn't get very far because her school's officials barred her from even entering.
After being devastated she decided to sue her school for causing the pain of attending her
prom. Anyways the she didn't get very far because before the second trial the Madison
County, where she attended school, settled for changing their school code dress policy.
Bias: The opinion of the author was mostly neutral as he provided evidence that supported
both sides of the story, still he was a little mores shifted towards the teen girl's opinion of the
situation.