Teens attend gay-friendly prom in Manassas

“Oh, my God, oh my God, hurry up!”

No, these weren’t the words of Jack Bauer trying to dismantle a bomb on the hit show “24.” Lil’ John’s “Aww, Skeet Skeet” was on the airwaves at Saturday’s Shatter the Silence 2009 gay-friendly prom, and one particular girl was demanding her friend finish her punch so they could run back to the dance floor.

Enthusiasm like that was widespread as more than 30 high school students from all over Northern Virginia boogied the night away at Prince William County’s first official gay-friendly teenage dance at Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church in Old Town Manassas.

While the numbers weren’t quite as high as organizers were expecting, the dance was a blast for many that came — gay or straight.

“It was really cool to have some place where you could go and be gay,” laughed Brentsville junior Kim Sheridan, who came with date and schoolmate Ashley Groth.

“Going to [Brentsville’s] school prom, I wouldn’t be afraid but it would be so awkward,” Groth said. “Now that we are here, it doesn’t really matter.”

Bull Run director of religious education Gail Dickert, along with members of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, Equality Prince William and the county’s Gay Straight Alliance helped organize the event. Battlefield High School junior and incoming GSA president David Aponte, who’s straight, was one such planner.

Bullied in his younger days for his smallish stature and Jewish faith, Aponte said he was proud to be associated with this year’s inaugural event.

“It was a very cool opportunity to start something like this in Prince William County,” said Aponte, who is also a member of GLESN and is involved with the anti-defamation league. “... I know there are some straight people here and you can tell people are interested in this kind of thing, something historic for the county.”

Dickert credits the Facebook phenomenon for spreading the word about the event in a state and county known more for its conservative politics.

Dickert, a lesbian who wrote recently a book about her struggles with her sexuality, was identified by a member of an “anti ex-gay group” online, which led her to join the local GSA.

On the GSA message board, there was talk of having a gay-friendly prom. When Dickert brought it up to her adult friends and co-workers, there was a tremendous interest in hosting the event.

On Saturday, their planning came to fruition.

“It’s almost on some level that they [students] don’t recognize they’re in Virginia,” Dickert said.

Eventually, Aponte would like to see the event expand to the size of the gay prom in Arlington, a recently created event that now draws around 100 attendees each year. Brentsville junior Kiyoshi Shaw, best friends of Sheridan and Groth, is confident it will.

“People here are really outgoing, they are just going at it, and I know they will tell other people about it,” said Shaw, who came out this school year. “I think next year it will just escalate now that more people know about it.”

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.