SURPRISE, Ariz. – School officials at Willow Canyon High School are taking flack from students after they allegedly refused to acknowledge a lesbian couple nominated as homecoming royalty.

Dysart Unified School District leaders issued a statement about the debacle that essentially explains that the high school’s process for nominating a homecoming king and queen doesn’t allow for a same sex couple, azcentral.com reports.

“The Willow Canyon High School students do not elect a couple as Homecoming King and Queen, rather individual students self-nominate or are nominated to run for Homecoming Queen or for Homecoming King,” according to the statement.

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“Students can nominate themselves or another student. One person is voted in by fellow students to represent female students at Homecoming and one male student is voted in by the students to represent the boys. Who that female and male student is, is up to the student vote.”

But students contend that ballots nominating the lesbian couple weren’t counted in a recent poll of students, and some are really upset about it, according to the news site.

“You’re our school, you’re meant to support your students, not shut them down saying you’re only supposed to do this,” senior Samantha Breedveld said. “It’s just wrong.”

“They have to realize that there are going to be gays and lesbians out there,” she said. “They can’t basically say, ‘We don’t want you. You can’t do this, or we will ignore (your) existence.’”

Junior Kody Jiles seemed to agree.

“We’re tired of the social normality that the king and queen have to be male and female,” Jiles told azcentral.com.

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Aaron Brown, a sophomore, contends that “this is what students want and what they are doing is basically discrimination.”

AZcentral.com did not speak with any students who opposed the lesbian couple, or the lesbian couple themselves.

Many who commented on the news seemed to disagree with the students.

“Sure lets support a perverse lifestyle and pretend its normal for men to hook up with men and women to hook up with women,” Daniel Clopton wrote on Facebook. “Next the (pedophiles) will be demanding their disturbing lifestyle be accepted.”

“So tired of all the sicko LGBT crowd,” Sheryl Jenkins posted. “It’s not all about you. Get over it!”

Others proposed a compromise.

“Let’s allow transgendered into the Miss America and Miss Universe contests,” Steve Cohan wrote. “Where does this end? Let high school have an open gender second couple composed of any sex variance. This is getting frigging ridiculous.”