A QUEEN WHO WOULD NOT DANCE AT THE BALL
by Bob Murray

To be selected queen at a high school basketball homecoming and to lead the group in the first dance at the royal ball is the dream of many high school girls. But not so with Olivia Wolfe, a senior at Neosho (MO) High School and a member of the Hillcrest church of Christ.

When Olivia was nominated to be queen, she had some misgivings because she knew that it was traditional for the queen to participate in the dance that followed the game. She talked with the sponsor of the activity and told the sponsor that she had religious convictions that would not allow her to participate in the dance and that if dancing were a requirement of being elected queen, she would need to refuse the nomination. The sponsor assured Olivia that if she were elected queen, she would not be required to participate in the dance in any way.

However, word soon spread that Olivia would not participate in the dance if elected queen. When a fellow student told Olivia that her parents thought it was terrible that Olivia's parents would not allow her to attend the dance, Olivia made it clear that the decision not to dance was based upon her own convictions and not upon orders from her parents.

Other students discussed whether they should vote for a queen candidate who would not be at the dance. When the ballots were cast and counted, Olivia was the successful candidate. On February 23, 1998, Olivia Wolfe was crowned Neosho High School Homecoming Queen, and true to her conviction, she did not attend the dance.

Olivia is an outstanding example for others to follow--both young and old. She was willing to give up the honor of being queen if it required her to violate her convictions. And her experience demonstrates that it is not necessary for a person to compromise convictions and go along with the crowd in order to be popular with the crowd. She was elected queen because of the respect her peers had for her, and--no doubt--one reason her peers had respect for her was the fact that she was a young lady of conviction, someone they could admire and be proud to claim as their homecoming queen.

We salute you, Olivia, for having the courage to stand by your convictions and to be an exceptional example to us all.

"Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).