School administrators and Police have been trying to shut down a tournament that pits Washington State high school students in a "hotness tournament" since 2009.
Male students at Issaquah High School created a tournament called "May Madness" where students vote on the hottest classmate.
Anonymous promoters post photos on a Facebook page of girls for one-on-one matchups in brackets patterned after sports tournaments. The female student does not have to give consent about whether her photo is entered or withheld for the competition. The decision is strictly left up to the promoters.
During the month of May, girls at Issaquah High School are told to "look their finest" while voting is underway, King5.com reports.
"This kind of thing is sexualizing us girls like we're some sort of trophy," sophomore Devon Keller told the station.
Officials believe the student-led tournament imitates a contest held by a local sports radio station that ranks models and celebrities. School officials have been unable to do away with the "May Madness" tournament because the contest isn't held on school grounds.
Last year, when the contest surfaced, parents contacted authorities who were able to temporarily shut the website down.
Fox news reports that authorities threatened organizers with arrest due to vulgar and profane comments under other people's identities which is considered a crime in Washington state.
"These are pretty smart folks behind this," Sarah Niegowski, district spokeswoman told King 5. "They know their First Amendment rights. They're very quiet about who it is and the group behind it."
Niegowski said she believes most students at Issaquah High - including boys - are unhappy with the hot-girl contest.
"A lot of them say this isn't what I'm about and I don't like the fact that our school is getting this reputation and I don't view females this way," she said.
School officials say police are monitoring the site and have asked hosting websites to shut down the "May Madness" website.
