Principal’s outing of gay student roils Fla. town

[The Resurrected One]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26316235/

[ShatteredWings]

damn..
that. is. fucking. wrong!
i'm gonna post the story in this thread

PONCE DE LEON, Fla. - When a high school senior told her principal that students were taunting her for being a lesbian, he told her homosexuality is wrong, outed her to her parents and ordered her to stay away from children.

He suspended some of her friends who expressed their outrage by wearing gay pride T-shirts and buttons at Ponce de Leon High School, according to court records. And he asked dozens of students whether they were gay or associated with gay students.

The American Civil Liberties Union successfully sued the district on behalf of a girl who protested against Principal David Davis, and a federal judge reprimanded Davis for conducting a "witch hunt" against gays. Davis was demoted, and school employees must now go through sensitivity training.
And despite all that, many in this conservative Panhandle community still wonder what, exactly, Davis did wrong.

"We are a small, rural district in the Bible Belt with strong Christian beliefs and feel like homosexuality is wrong," said Steve Griffin, Holmes County's school superintendent, who keeps a Bible on his desk and framed Scriptures on his office walls.

Holmes County, on the Georgia line, has about 20,000 residents. There is some agriculture, but most people are employed either by prisons or schools; some commute to the Gulf Coast to work in tourism. Ponce de Leon, with fewer than 500 residents, has a cafe, a post office and an antique store.

Many in the community support Davis and feel outsiders are forcing their beliefs on them. Griffin, who kicked Davis out of the principal's office but allowed him to continue teaching at the school, said high schoolers here aren't exposed to the same things as kids in Atlanta or Chicago.

"I don't think we are that different from a lot of districts, at least in the Panhandle, that have beliefs that maybe are different from societal changes," Griffin said.

Gay rights activists said that's no excuse for what Davis did.

'Witch hunt'
The problems began last fall when Davis, who did not return phone messages from The Associated Press, admonished the senior, who is identified only as "Jane Doe" in court records and whose friends say she doesn't want to talk about the experience.

The friends donned gay pride T-shirts and rainbow-colored clothing when they found out how Davis had treated her, and he questioned many of them about their sexuality and association with gay students. Some were suspended.

Live Vote: Was the princapal justified

"Davis embarked on what can only be characterized as a 'witch hunt' to identify students who were homosexual and their supporters, further adding fuel to the fire," U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak recounted in his ruling. "He went so far as to lift the shirts of female students to insure the letters 'GP' or the words 'Gay Pride' were not written on their bodies."

Heather Gillman, an 11th-grader who took part in the protests, complained to her mother, Ardena, a 40-year-old corrections officer and mother of three. Ardena Gillman called the ACLU, even though she knew people would be angry.

"I just felt like I had to stand up for the kids. Heather wanted to do this, and I had to back her," she said.

Ardena hoped to protect the students' freedom of speech — whether it was the freedom to wear Confederate flag T-shirts to show Southern pride or the freedom to wear rainbow T-shirts to support gay rights.

Courts have repeatedly ruled that similar student protests are constitutional as long as they are not disruptive.

"I think a shirt that says 'I support gays' is very different from a shirt that says 'Gays are going to hell,'" said Benjamin Stevenson, an ACLU attorney. "One can be very disruptive for a child's self-esteem; the other supports other people and their ideas."

[pg2]
Ardena Gillman also knew some of the students would need to learn to be tolerant.

"What happens when these kids get out in the real world after they leave Ponce de Leon and they have a black, homosexual supervisor at their job?" she said.

The ACLU sued in January, and Smoak ruled this summer that Davis violated Heather Gillman's rights.

"I emphasize that Davis's personal and religious views about homosexuality are not issues in this case. Indeed, Davis's opinions and views are consistent with the beliefs of many in Holmes County, in Florida, and in the country," Smoak wrote in an opinion released last month. "Where Davis went wrong was when he endeavored to silence the opinions of his dissenters."

Hailed as hero, villain
As Ardena Gillman suspected, the lawsuit created hard feelings in town.

A Wal-Mart worker yelled at her, accusing her of trying to "bankrupt" the school district, which was ordered to pay $325,000 in ACLU attorney fees. One of her friends has refused to talk to her because the lawsuit conflicted with the woman's religious beliefs.

Others flatly hail Davis as a hero.

"David Davis is a fine man and good principal, and we are a gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented community," said Bill Griffin, 73 and a lifelong Ponce de Leon resident who is no relation to the district superintendent. "We aren't out to tar and feather anyone."

The lawsuit could reflect a division between the high school students who have grown up in an era of gay tolerance and the community's elders, said Gary Scott, a school board member.

"But I think that's less of an issue here than in Miami or Minnesota," he said.

The judge's scathing rebuke left Scott questioning how his community's beliefs could be so different from the judge's opinion.

"I guess I didn't realize we were this bad," Scott said.

[Ryandel]

That's just wrong.

[Oblivion]

God things like this make me so glad I live no where near the panhandle anymore.
Thats just sickening.

[The Batman]

Why won't people wake up to the 21st century and start accepting each other.

[Rutherford The Brave]

Because big bro its simple. People like perfection some think that they are, and everyone else isn't. Its just the stereotypical egotistical freak.

[The Resurrected One]

Gives me more reason to not be religious. I wouldn't want to share the same religion as people like those.

I'd rather invent my own.

[Sugaree]

I agree with Alex that this is just flat out wrong. This shouldn't be allowed in schools.

[ShatteredWings]

technally it isn't...


i think they should've canned that princapals ass

[The Resurrected One]

What good are religious schools for anyway, besides just making people feel bad. Not a very supportive place.

At least where I go to people are supportive of eachother.

[Sugaree]

That's the exact problem with the world today. It almost takes an entire catastrophe for us to actually care for eachother. What ever happened when everyone looked out for eachother?

[The Resurrected One]

They should all be shut down, or at least take the gay students to a better place while leaving all the ignorant people where they belong!

[Sugaree]

To these Religious schools, Hell is a good place for gay students.

[The Batman]

No we need to start teaching our kids to accept one another. Segregation isn't going to work and closing down the racist places won't do shit either.

[ShatteredWings]

since when would segragation work? it never did...

these people...

[The Resurrected One]

To these Religious schools, Hell is a good place for gay students.

Hell doesn't even exist. Those people don't know shit.

[Bobby]

Johnny and others...we are not going to sit here and accuse a religion of being stupid. You can disagree in a respectful way.

[The Batman]

You guys are actually starting to sound like your bashing religious schools in general.

[serial-thrilla]

Well they clearly have the right to do it. If the gay students don't like how they are being treated they should go to a public school.

[ShatteredWings]

yes and no, nobody can 'prove' ones orientation, but if if you know it's a problem, don't go to the school
also, the school in question is a public school (i did a google search)

[The Batman]

Nobody for any reason has the right to mistreat someone because they are different and I don't care who they are, what school it is, or anything discrimination should never be allowed.

[[[chickaroo92]]]

I happen to be religious, as well as conservative.
However, people who are gay or lesbian, etc. are people, just like all of us. They should be treated as such. Just because a guy wants to have sex with another guy doesn't mean he should be treated differently, and cant be around other people.
People should be accepted for who they are.

[Zephyr]

Why does this have to happen?
My friend Tim was outed by the vice principal to his parents 4 years ago.
He took it upon himself to call Tim's parents and tell them.
It was, and still remains, seriously messed up.
Argh! Things like this really tick me off -_-
School administrators have NO business whatsoever in a kids' sexuality,
Or matters as private as that for that matter.

[Whisper]

I'd want more than his job if that happened to any of my friends
I'd financially ruin him
I'd make sure he could never again work at any school
I'd want blood

[Mzor203]

Well they clearly have the right to do it. If the gay students don't like how they are being treated they should go to a public school.

I'll point out that sometimes it isn't the child's decision what school he goes to. The parents play a big part in that.

[The Resurrected One]

You guys are actually starting to sound like your bashing religious schools in general.

I am. Give me something good about them.

[Bobby]

This is quickly turning into a debate about religious schools. If you want to debate that, go to Ramblings Of The Wise, not this thread.

[Whisper]

I'm not debating anything about catholic schools
I went to them for yrs

It doesn't matter what school
to do that to a teen
Not acceptable
period

[Neverender]

fucking bitches. thats wrong. he should be arrested.

[Camazotz]

I am. Give me something good about them.

Well for one thing, our local Catholic school goes to NYC at midnight to hand out sandwiches and other food to the homeless. They don't get back till like 5 in the morning. In my opinion, that's pretty nice.

So unless I'm missing your point, I disagree with you. Not all Catholic schools are prejudiced. There are certain people who may think being gay is a sin, in which case is a terrible thing. But to bash an entire religion and all of it's followers is pretty harsh.

[Whisper]

This is quickly turning into a debate about religious schools. If you want to debate that, go to Ramblings Of The Wise, not this thread.
Were not in Kansas anymore todo

VTDC ---ROTW