The lawyer in me smiles when I hear of a school district dumb enough to try to undermine a club devoted to keeping school safe for kids at risk of being bullied, especially when recent bullying has led to a spate of students killing themselves. The lawsuits write themselves. The Pocono Record:
Bangor Area School Director Frank Addessi rebuked school board members, saying they were unfairly targeting students looking to create a Gay Straight Alliance club.A number of the school board members want to make kids get permission slips before joining the club, since, and they actually admitted this, maybe the parents would like to know that their kids might be gay.
At a workshop meeting Monday, the school board reviewed an upcoming agenda item about the creation of the Bangor's Safe School Club at the Bangor Area High School.
According to the club's guidelines, it would provide a welcoming environment to gay students and those who support them. The club would create an opportunity for them to discuss current issues and promote anti-bullying messages. The anti-bullying efforts would focus on bullying in general, not just the gay community.
Yeah, that would be a smart thing to do - coerce students to come out to their parents even if they're not ready and the parents might not be ready.
Colton also said she is uncomfortable with the idea of her own children attending a club seeking support for their own homosexuality without coming out to her first.Yeah, right. She's doing this because she "supports" gay youth.
A permission slip could spark a conversation that would allow her to express her support for her own daughter or son, she said.
Those board members had better hope that no student is bullied (or worse) at that school, because they're on the verge of fostering a hostile climate, and the lawsuit will quite literally write itself.
