Manhunt Cares

By Jamie Larson

The Hudson High School prom made history this past Saturday when openly gay best friends were named prom king and queen.

Seniors Charlie Ferrusi and Timmy Howard won their respective crown and tiara by a landslide Saturday and said the support they received from their peers and school administration has been fun and humbling.

“It’s a really big step for Hudson but also for the gay community in general,” Howard said Wednesday. “To have this happen in our city is pretty exciting.”

Ferrusi said he and Howard started thinking about running about a month ago. While there were some students who were in opposition to their idea many more approved and the boys decided to go for it.
By prom night the overwhelming majority of students cast their votes in the open ballot race. They won by such a wide margin the school didn’t crown any runners up.

In 2008 Augie Abatecola ran and won the race for Hudson prom queen but he was denied the crown by school officials. This time around Ferrusi and Howard decided to run their plan by advisors and Principal Steven Spicer beforehand.

The school officials said they wouldn’t interfere with the student body’s vote and gave the boys their blessing.

“We’re proud of all our students,” said Spicer Wednesday. “They know they have the right to pick whoever they want. It was exciting for them and it was exciting for Charlie and Tim.”

One of the hardest parts of the experience, Ferrusi and Howard said, was deciding who would run for king and who would be queen. Both added they had the full support of their families.

While they were pretty sure they would win due to the buzz around school the boys said they still weren’t sure everyone would vote for them.

“First of all it’s Hudson High School,” said Ferrusi. “For me to win king was crazy. For Timmy to win queen was insane. We both researched it online and never found any story of two gay guys winning both king and queen.”

In recent years across the U.S. openly gay and lesbian teens have clashed with school officials at prom time.

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