Here’s a story of basic human decency in darkest Indiana:
Sophomore Megan Chase wrote an opinion piece – her first for the [school] newspaper – that appeared in the Jan. 19 issue of the Woodlan Tomahawk that questioned people who believe it’s wrong to be gay or lesbian. Chase said she wrote the piece after a friend disclosed to her he was gay.
“I can only imagine how hard it would be to come out as homosexual in today’s society,” Chase wrote. “I think it is so wrong to look down on those people, or to make fun of them, just because they have a different sexuality than you. There is nothing wrong with them or their brain; they’re just different than you.”
…and of the efforts of school officials to crush it:
A student editorial in the Woodlan Junior-Senior High School newspaper calling for more tolerance for gays and lesbians sparked the principal to seek approval of each edition before it goes to print and issue a written warning against the journalism teacher….
Principal Edwin Yoder wrote a letter to the newspaper staff and journalism teacher Amy Sorrell insisting he sign off on every issue. Sorrell and the students contacted the Student Press Law Center, an advocacy group for student newspapers, which advised them to appeal the decision.
Last week, Yoder issued Sorrell a written warning for insubordination and not carrying out her responsibilities as a teacher. He accused her of exposing Woodlan students, who are in grades seven through 12, to inappropriate material and said if she did not comply with his orders she could be fired.
Inappropriate material. Advance Indiana has the full text of the editorial (scroll down). Go read it and see if you can tell any better than I can what the ‘inappropriate’ part is. The part where she says homosexuality is not a disease? Where she says it’s unfair for religion to condemn people to hell for something that isn’t a choice? Where she says being homosexual doesn’t make a person inhuman?
The journalism teacher and students are fighting it, with help from the Student Press Law Center. Meanwhile, the Fort Wayne Community School District “encourages [us] to comment or ask questions”, so if you have any comments or questions be sure to drop them a line.
(Hat tip: Shakespeare’s Sister.)
[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]
I’m a big fan of the Student Press Law Center. They helped me out (along with the ACLU) when I was EIC for the Ridgewood High School newspaper.
I suspect that the argument will be that she’s pushing a “homosexuality is not a choice, therefore it has to be okay” viewpoint, which seems to threaten many people. (Of course, personally, I’m not fond of that argument myself, but merely because I strongly feel that whether or not homosexuality is a choice is irrelevant to whether it’s moral or whether gay and bisexual people deserve dignity, respect, and equal rights.) However, deep down, I suspect many people are really upset over the suggestion that they should “play nice” with gay people.
I’m a bit amazed at the principle’s choice to charge the teacher with insubordination. It seems quite clear to me that the teacher followed proper procedure by filing an appeal. After all, if teacher’s are not supposed to appeal such decisions, why have an appeals process in the first place? Indeed, it seems to me that trying to further discipline the teacher for making use of the appeals process puts the principle on rather shaky ground. It clearly demonstrates — to my mind at least — that he has a totalitarian streak and a penchant for vindictiveness. A reasonable person in his position would have allowed the appeal to be heard and then go from there based on the outcome of that appeal. His actions suggest to me that the principle needs to be scrutinized to see if this is an isolated incident or an example of regular misconduct on his part.
Cathy, was that Ridgewood, NJ? I did time in Leonia as a kid.
Jarred, I think you’re absolutely right about the principal.
Yes. The principal and dean of students gave my name to the police because I’d promised anonymity to a letter writer. Don’t underestimate the power trip some school administrators can be on… (of course, I remember nearly snickering out loud when the Dean of Students – whom I believe is still there – told me that if I refused to divulge the letter writer’s identity I’d be guilty of “perjury.” Um, no, and I didn’t need to be a lawyer to know that…)
In my case though the newspaper advisor was absolutely useless. I was on my own to figure out who to contact. (Fortunately I had a teacher from another class whom I trusted who was able to point me in the right direction.)
Interesting. ‘Perjury’ indeed…that would be hilarious if it weren’t so horrifying.
As your story shows, the Woodlan kids are very lucky to have a teacher like Sorrell in their corner.
Ridgewood schools, where they told my brother that he was required by law to stand for the pledge of allegience…in 1983. Six years after I won my case changing that law. Of course, my brother and I have different last names, so they didn’t know with whom they were fucking. And he didn’t have to be a lawyer either.
The sad thing is that, despite all this (oh, and the sex discrimination too), compared to other school districts, Ridgewood really isn’t all that bad…