Comments
by Java Mann...
I’ve
said it before and I’ll say it again: I really have no use for anyone under
25 years of age. I find them kinda dull. Their personalities haven’t formed
yet, they’ve had precious little life experience, and their music really
sucks. Working with them is a chore, and as far as socializing with them,
well, I leave that up to braver men.
I tell you this to frame
a compliment, so please consider the source. I’m damned impressed with
high school kids today. Well not all of ‘em, but a precious few. I am talking
of course, of the high school kids who are actually fighting in court for
their right to form a gay-friendly peer group.
Recently, there has been
a disproportionate number of news articles concerning high school students
and the hard time they are receiving as they attempt to organize gay friendly
after-school groups. Forming an after school club should not require a
federal court order, but in Salt Lake City Utah, that is exactly the case.
Admittedly this is old news,
but in 1996 the students of Salt Lake City’s East High school attempted
to form a Gay-Straight Alliance (a non-curricula club), only to be stopped
by the School District. Under the Federal Equal Access Act, if the school
receives federal funding (which it does) and permits non-curricula clubs
(ditto), it cannot refuse any non-curricula club based on content or viewpoint.
The school, rather than permit the SGA to meet, eliminated all Non-curricula
clubs. Does this strike anyone else as a realllllly immature act being
performed by the people we have entrusted to educate our children???
Presently a lawsuit concerning
the SGA is pending, and the students are still meeting. They must, however,
meet after school hours, pay rent to the school, acquire private insurance,
and they are denied access to the schools communication system. I have
to conclude that in this case the communication system refers to the P.A.
system, the school newspaper, and bulletin boards. Sigh…
Anyway, I said I was impressed
with the kids, not the administration.
What impresses me, is that
a group of students have taken the initiative to start the club, to fight
back against oppression, and to pursue it through the court system. And
what really impresses me is that another group of students has recently
taken it a step further, and is attempting to form a curricula based club.
People Respecting Important
Social Movements, despite its dorky acronym (PRISM) is a curricular based
club that discusses social issues through the gay and lesbian viewpoint.
The discussions would deal with homosexuality and how it relates in history,
government and sociology.
The School Department, in
its ultimate wisdom has said "we don’t teach curriculum from the viewpoint
of gays and lesbians" thus attempting to dismiss PRISM as a non-curricular
group. It pains me to point to these so-called educators that the do (hopefully)
teach history, sociology and civics.
Needless to say, the parties
involved have found themselves in court. The ACLU has taken up the student’s
case, contesting the schools actions as denying the student’s their first
amendment rights to free expression. Sigh…Forming an after school club
should not require a federal court order.
Lastly, I wish to say I am
impressed with this group of teenagers for showing real courage in the
face of adversity. I am referring to their openness concerning sexual orientation.
When I was in high school (many, many) years ago, I firmly entrenched in
the closet. I would never have dared mention homosexuality in any way,
shape or form, outside of a joke. I wouldn’t have dreamed of discussing
my feelings openly. In reflection, having the opportunity to discuss a
very difficult subject in a nurturing and accepting environment would have
made the most difficult part of my life a great deal easier.
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