To The Center

A Michigan girl who was picked to be on the homecoming court as a prank by her classmates faced the crowd at the homecoming football game Friday.

Whitney Kropp was selected by her classmates to be on the homecoming court. She found out later that it was a prank by her class, according to MLive.

Kropp decided to face the bullies and stay on the court and was up on stage at the game Friday with her classmate Josh Awrey, the male representative of the class of 2015. Also, a senior with Down Syndrome was named this year’s homecoming king.

Many people were dressed in orange, which was Kropp’s favorite color, to show their support for her.

A friend of Kropp’s,  Donny Winter, was also bullied as a high school student.

“Public humiliation is the worse kind of bullying,” Winter said. “She is such a kind person, and this more than a cinderella story, it’s about spreading awareness about bullying that happens all of the time.”

Kropp said she was surprised that she was nominated for the homecoming court. That surprise turned into humiliation for her as she soon found out it was a joke, according to NBC.

“People had bullied on me, I guess, for my looks, how I did my hair, how I dress, my height, so I guess they thought, you know, maybe someone that is different is someone that’s an easy target,” Kropp said.

A Facebook page was also started to show support for Whitney.

“The kids that are bullying you do not let them bring you down,” she said. “Stand up for what you believe in, and go with your heart and go with your gut. That’s what I did and look at me now. I’m just as happy as can be.”