After planning for a year, a football stadium erupted in cheers this week when students at Denham Springs school crowned down syndrom student Meghan Burns homecoming queen this week, a major demonstration of the fundamental spirit underlying each of the thirty Articles of Human Rights, equality.

Meghan Burns, just about the most popular student at Juban Parc Junior High, got 90 percent of the homecoming queen vote.

"She's kind towards everybody and has a really sweet heart," said Kallie
Pope, an eighth-grader at Louisiana's Denham Springs school, who has
known Meghan since the fourth grade.

"Teachers say Kallie is one of the girls who watches out for Meghan -
at school dances and sports games," reports Tyana Williams for WAFB.
"She's got a good heart...she's nice to everybody," said Mather Guzzardo who has known Kallie since the sixth grade.


"I'll be in the hallway and I'll say, 'Hey Meghan' and she'll say,
'Hey Dillon, what you doing?'" said another schoolmate, Dillon Boyle.
Dillon saw on television last year something about a school voting a
girl with Down syndrome as homecoming queen and that's when he decided
to get his classmates to do the same for Meghan. He asked Mathew to help
him.
"At first, some didn't think we were serious," Guzzardo said. "Then,
after we told a lot of people, most decided they were going to do it."
Wednesday night when Meghan walked down the 50-yard line, as the
announcer named those on the homecoming court, no one was surprised. In
fact, there were lots of cheers when her namewas called. And, her
personality really showed through as she posed, while her list of
accomplishments and awards from competing in the Special Olympics were
read.
Even though Meghan has Down syndrome, her classmates say she's no
different from them. So, when her name was called as homecoming queen,
the stadium erupted in cheers.
Meghan wore her sash and crown to school Thursday, showing the students just how much the honor meant.


"Perhaps the students at Juban Parc Junior High have already learned
what the poster in Meghan's class states," writes Williams: 'Expect to
be accepted for who you are.'"