Representative image. Students and teachers rallied in support of Sammi, a transgender student at Fairfield High School who was elected Homecoming Queen.

“Sammi was voted by the students, and some parents didn’t like that,” student Preston Johnson told Erie’s WJET. “The whole point of homecoming king and queen is the student votes. And we voted, and Sammi is our homecoming queen.”

Two days after the dance, a teacher organized a group to attend the school board meeting. It was standing room only, and the board braced for a long night of public comment.

Not one person spoke against her. The only speaker was a student, standing up for the dozens who had come to support Sammi.