Friday, April 06, 2007

Indian Prairie Unit District 203: Judge to Decide Whether School Can Discriminate Against Conservative Message

From "Deal in works over anti-gay T-shirt" by Rob Olmstead, posted 4/5/07, at the Daily Herald

The lawyers for a Naperville teen and Neuqua Valley High School are trying to hammer out an agreement that would let the student express her opposition to homosexuality on a T-shirt, the parties said in court Wednesday.

Heidi Zamecnik, 17, and her parents sued Indian Prairie Unit District 204 March 21, alleging that last year students were allowed to wear shirts voicing support for tolerance of gays on a national “Day of Silence,” but that Zamecnik was censored the following day when she tried to wear a T-shirt that read “Be happy, not gay” in support of a competing “Day of Truth.”

Zamecnik asked a federal court to enter an order forbidding the school from preventing her expression of her opinion this year on April 19, the date of this year’s “Day of Truth.

...Jack Canna, the district’s attorney, confirmed that, but did not guarantee a resolution. He noted the district wants to know exactly what would be on the T-shirt Zamecnik wears.

As long as the message on the shirt does not advocate violence or use profanity (which is only allowed in required reading assignments), what difference does it make what's on the shirt? If you allow gay advocates to advance their political agenda, you must allow allow conservative to do the same. Not to do so constitutes unfair discrimination. The whole situation is extremely unfortunate.

Why not promote reading, writing, math, history, science and have a real 'Day of Silence', 365 days a year regarding how people have sex? Teaching about sex is the job of parents since it cannot be taught without communicating values of one sort or another.

In the meantime, find out if your school is participating in the Day of Silence and if it is, protect your kids.

Read the rest of the article.