School Gave Her Nothing to Cheer About, Suit Claims

A Fountain Valley teen-ager filed a lawsuit against school officials Wednesday, alleging that she was not chosen for the high school cheerleading squad because her breasts are too large.

At the same time, a $1-million claim for damages was filed with the Huntington Beach Union School District.

The adviser for the cheerleading squad told Vicki Ann Guest, 17, that she needed breast reduction surgery, according to the lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court.

“She really confused me,” Guest said in an interview. “I was shocked. I didn’t know what to think.”

The lawsuit, filed by noted feminist attorney Gloria Allred, asks for a court declaration that Guest’s treatment by a teacher at Fountain Valley High School is unconstitutional sex discrimination. Allred said she filed a separate demand Thursday for $1 million in damages from the district for emotional distress.

‘Sexist, Ignorant, Dangerous’

“The school’s policy is sexist, ignorant and dangerous and must be changed,” Allred said.

A district aide declined to comment, citing confidentiality of student records and the pending litigation.

But school board member Jerry L. Sullivan said, “No one would be stupid enough to create a policy like that . . . and if one surfaces, we’ll get rid of it yesterday--I can tell you that.”

Sullivan said the school principal advised the board of the April incident at a meeting six weeks ago.

“The parents were rankled by the incident, as I would be too, I suppose,” Sullivan said. “I think the teacher handled the situation with the student very badly, if the teacher did indeed say that. The teacher might have intimated that, but she certainly did not come out and say, ‘You ought to get breast surgery,’ ” according to the report, Sullivan said.

“We didn’t think it would come to a court case,” Sullivan said. “We thought it was frivolous.”

Sullivan said the board was only advised of the incident, and took no action beyond discussion.

Most teen-age women, Allred said, “are very insecure about their bodies and the size and shape of their breasts, and remarks from figures in authority about a student’s shape can leave long-lasting emotional scars.”

“The size or shape of her breasts should be totally irrelevant to her right to participate in any school activity if (she is) otherwise qualified,” Allred said.

Vicki Guest’s mother, Ann Guest, said she was “outraged” when she heard what had happened.

“She believed her (the teacher),” the mother said. “She believed that she could not try out for anything until she had breast reduction. I could not convince her there was not anything wrong with her body.”

The teacher, identified in the lawsuit as Jean Clower, is an orchestra instructor at Fountain Valley High and adviser to the cheerleading squad. Clower could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“I called her and asked, ‘What’s happening over there?’ ” Ann Guest said. “She told me her breasts were too large. She said Vicki should have breast reduction surgery soon.”

Vicki Guest said she went to see Clower to learn why she had not been chosen for the squad after the tryouts.

Grades, Talent, Ability

Clower said that she had good grades and that her talent and ability were fine, according to Vicki Guest. The sole reason for the rejection was her breast size, the girl said.

Vicki Guest, 5-feet, 2-inches tall and 120 pounds, plans a professional dancing career. She received a $1,000 scholarship from her school last spring to study dance in Pittsburgh, Pa., her mother said.

Once she got over her “humiliation” and “embarrassment,” Ann Guest said, she found support from her friends at school.

“Most of my friends were really shocked. They couldn’t understand why that would be a reason. They were all very supportive.”

Allred praised Guest for her “great courage” in bringing the lawsuit and having “her body and the school’s policy become the subject of public debate.”

“She has chosen to take this action in spite of the risks because she and her parents believe that teen-age women are entitled to better treatment by public schools,” Allred said.