Fountain Street Church to host fifth Alternative Prom

Fountain Street Church is preparing for its fifth annual West Michigan Alternative Prom on May 2 at 7 p.m. with an expected 190 students in attendance.

The prom is funded and organized by the Fountain Street Church high school youth group and will be held in the social hall at Fountain Street Church.

“As a minister and one of the adult chaperones at this year’s event, I think it is wonderful that Fountain Street Church is the venue for the West Michigan Alternative Prom and that our youth are dedicated to providing a safe, fun and welcoming event for LGBTQ youth and allies,” says Reverend Elizabeth Barnum, Associate Minister at Fountain Street Church.

The prom originated as Leigh Morrison’s senior project five years ago. The prom was intended to enrich and benefit the community by giving student a safe place to celebrate this rite of passage.

This year’s prom is being organised by Leigh Morrison’s younger sister, Isabel Morrison, a senior at City High-Middle School. She feels that the prom is important to so many others as a rite of passage, and that no one sure be excluded.

"It's important to me, because people in my opinion should be treated equally and be able to have the same rights and experiences as everyone else," Isabel Morrison says.

Rebecca DeBoer, a members of the prom's planning committee, sees prom as an important rite of passage that all young people should have the opportunity to experience.

"The fact that people were being excluded from [prom] because their girlfriend was a girl and they were a girl was ridiculous, and we felt it would be a good thing for us to take a stand on," DeBoer says.

DeBoer, who’s helped with the Alternative Prom for the past three years, is pleased to see how it has gained popularity..

"Last year was the biggest prom we've ever had. We actually reached capacity for the social hall, which was really exciting," she says, “Having students from all over the city was really cool and I hope this year we can serve even more students."

This year's theme is Alice in Wonderland, and is open to all high school students.

"On our posters we have a quote from the book that says, 'we're all mad here' because we want to spread the message that it’s okay for you to not be what people want you to be,” Isabel Morrison says, “you should be who you want to be for yourself."