MANCHESTER, N.H. — A local high school student will not be able to bring his girlfriend to prom after weeks were spent fighting for permission.
Sultan Akhtar is an 18-years-old senior at Manchester Central High School and his girlfriend, Kaitlyn Ozerchowski, is 22, an age the school says is too old for prom.
“He worked really hard, you know. He had good grades. Why should he be penalized because of the person he cares for?” Sultan’s mother, Roxanne Akhtar, said.
The Manchester School District does not allow prom attendees 21 years old and over, apparently to reduce the risk of alcohol use at the event.
“She's not fighting and pushing to go to this prom. She's just supporting him because he wants to go to the prom,” Roxanne Akhtar said.
The prom is on Friday, and with time dwindling, Roxanne pulled out the stops to change school administrators' minds. She brought Sultan’s 82-year-old grandmother along to a Monday night meeting to help convince the school committee.
"Special occasion. Special event. You don't see that much. It only happens once in a lifetime. And he's such a good boy. And she's such a good girl," Sultan's grandmother Shirley Cutting said.
High school officials set a pair of tickets aside for Sultan and his girlfriend while the decision was being made.
According to the Union Leader, the school committee voted 9-3 Monday night not to let Sultan's girlfriend go.
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