SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A protest was held at Southfield High School Friday after an anonymous donor volunteered to buy prom tickets for vaccinated students.
A vaccine clinic at the Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology was supposed to be another convenient way for students to get the shot, but a controversy over prom tickets brought out protesters.
“It’s not right to make someone get vaccinated in order to go to prom,” one protester said.
Southfield Public Schools superintendent Dr. Jennifer Martin-Green said that’s not the case.
“There is misinformation in the community that the district is discriminating against those students who are not electing to become vaccinated. This is misinformation,” Martin-Green said. “We are not barring anyone from attending. Everyone will need a ticket. The only difference is someone is paying for the ticket of those students whose families select for them to be vaccinated.”
The district is not identifying students who did or did not get vaccinated or separating them based on their family’s decisions.
One mother showed up Friday with her 9th grade son to get him vaccinated.
“I’ve already gotten both of my shots so I wanted to encourage my son to have him do it,” she said. “I feel much safer now that he’s got his first dose.”
The district said they’ve gotten requests from people wishing to cover the $80 prom ticket for students who don’t get vaccinated. They can contact the district to forward a payment if they choose too. The Southfield Public Schools District official website can be found here.