Two students running for homecoming king and queen at Mulberry High School in the idyllic town of Mulberry, Fla. have been disqualified and suspended from all homecoming activities because they gave out goodie bags full of condoms and candy in support of their candidacies.
The students, seniors Montana Fulkerson and Dalton Wiggs, figured the gimmick would be a clever way to make themselves stand out in a crowded homecoming field of 20 couples, reports local CBS affiliate WPEC.
Fulkerson and Wiggs attached stickers to the LifeStyles-brand condoms that said, “Wrap these votes up” and “Vote Tana and Wiggs.”
“We thought it would be funny to get condoms and write wrap up your vote because it yelled to the student body,” Fulkerson told local NBC station WPTV.
Officials with the Polk County Public Schools failed to appreciate the gesture and, on Thursday, banned the pair from the homecoming court and all homecoming festivities.
In a statement, the district billed the condom-filled goodie bags as an “inappropriate activity.” The statement also described participation in homecoming as an extracurricular privilege.
Fulkerson and Wiggs, who say they have been friends since they were eight-years-old, were forlorn about the decision.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for and working for. We started early, months ago, getting everything ready and ideas ready, and so it’ll be sad this weekend,” a dejected Fulkerson told WPTV.
She noted that she had still picked up her light-blue homecoming dress in case school officials change their decision.
“I’ve been waiting my whole high school career just to run for homecoming king,” an equally disappointed Wiggs told the NBC affiliate.
“For it to be thrown away the day before voting, it’s pretty painful.”
Fulkerson explained that she is an abstinence supporter who wears a purity ring.
“We didn’t mean to promote sex,” Fulkerson told WPEC. “We were promoting safe sex and we figured if they were going to be mature enough to do it then they need to do it safely.”
Students at Mulberry High said that Fulkerson and Wiggs stood a decent chance of being crowned homecoming king and queen.
WATCH:
Follow Eric on Twitter and on Facebook, and send education-related story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.