You find the oddest things in the oddest places...
Staff members of the 2008 Clovis High School yearbook say the inclusion of photos and interviews with gay couples in the annual is a reflection of the community. A local Christian group and others strongly disagree. One detractor has threatened to stop donating to school projects while others said they plan to go in front of the school board to protest.
Student editor in chief Maggie Chavez and staff member Jessie Hardison said Thursday the decision to feature gay couples was a conscious one made with much consideration and discussion by the staff. The staff wanted to be as diverse and inclusive as possible and wanted to make a product for all students to enjoy, they said. Though they themselves are not gay, the two said they felt strongly about including gays in the yearbook. “We just wanted to show that there is a diversity, there (are) gay and lesbian couples in the school and they have a right to be in the yearbook just as much as anybody else does,” Chavez said.
Photos of two lesbian couples along with narratives describing their relationships were included in a couples feature section titled “Do you want to go out?” Also pictured on the two-page spread were nine heterosexual couples.
While school staff check for obscenity, libel and other matters of legal concern, yearbook supervisor Carol Singletary said it is a student-produced publication. The content featuring gay students was not stopped by administrators, because, “It didn’t violate privacy, it wasn’t obscene, it wasn’t libelous ... it didn’t violate any of the district policies,” Singletary said.
Former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley, who described himself as a parent and concerned Christian member of the community, said he is upset about the photos and accompanying write-ups. “I think it’s highly inappropriate to place that in that venue. That is no place for that type of negligent exploitation of our kids,” he said. “I do not in any way believe this reflects the attitudes and values of this community.”
I see.
So it's all right to negligently exploit the straight couples, but not the gay couples. What a ... unique attitude about things. Especially for a former public official. One wonders just how effective he was at espousing genuine public interests.
...Relationship spreads have been in the yearbook for several years and have featured friends and couples, Hardison said, but never gay couples. Male gay couples invited to participate declined, she said, because they feared repercussions and possible violence....
And that's just sad. Not only that they let the fear stop them -- after all, it's not an unrealistic fear -- but that is a realistic, well-grounded fear. That said ... it's not as though the lesbians had less to fear, and they didn't let that stop them. THAT said ... I don't think I'd have done it, either. Mind, I went to high school in a different part of the state, and in a different time, and wasn't in any sort of relationship during yearbook assembly season anyway. I would think that in Albuquerque now, while I wouldn't say that it wouldn't be a big deal, it might be less of a big deal than this. Or a different type of big deal, anyway. After all, even high schools in Albuquerque's more conservative suburbs have gay-straight alliance clubs:
David Danzilio is gay. He's 18. And in one Albuquerque high school, he's played a crucial role in creating a safe haven for other gay youth.
Danzilio came to Albuquerque a couple years ago from the liberal-leaning city of Boston. He ended up in Northeast Heights Albuquerque at La Cueva High School, a school Danzilio says is known for its more conservative views. He quickly realized he wasn't in Kansas, er, Boston, anymore. Feeling a lack of tolerance in the halls of the school spurred Danzilio to petition for the creation of a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a club that has been successful in other schools around the country, including nearly every other high school in Albuquerque. David was successful, and today the club thrives with a diverse mix of gay and straight, out and in the closet. The mission of the GSA is simple: to create a safe microcosm for youth in the gay community.
What were your experiences in Boston compared to Albuquerque, in terms of acceptance of gay culture?
It's definitely a more conservative environment here; you can’t get much more liberal than Boston. I didn’t know anybody [when I first moved here], and I had to be wary of who I [came out to]. We all know La Cueva High School is a little bit more conservative than the rest and I was little bit wary of [going to the school] because of its reputation. Coming here was hard, but I absolutely love it, and it’s not as hard as I thought it would be to be gay [here]. There are a lot of gay people in Albuquerque; believe it or not, there are a ton of gay people here.
There are people who think the entire gay community is based on the bar and nightclub scene. When you came here, you were under 18--how were you able to get involved in the gay community and meet others?
It was more about meeting one person and then meeting more and more. You sort of flock together. If you meet one person, you get into the network. Everybody knows a gay person, and when they find that one person is gay, they’ve got to introduce them to another gay person. But the whole "gay is a bar scene" [thing]--it’s true, but not for everybody. It’s just like meeting somebody who is straight; you don’t meet them because they are straight; you meet them because you meet them.
What sort of actions does the La Cueva GSA perform in the community?
We have done a lot of things, like the Day of Silence. The Day of Silence is when you stay silent throughout the whole day and you carry a card that says something like: "I am not talking in remembrance of hate crimes." We pretty much participate in events that raise awareness of the gay community and promote tolerance.
Why did you start a GSA at La Cueva?
The lack of tolerance and acceptance in that school just got to me. And I was like, "Something needs to change and I am going to do whatever I can to help change this." I remember when I was going around asking people to sign the charter, [which was necessary to start the alliance]. We only needed 10 people to sign it and I wanted to get a lot more than that. I got a hundred and some people to sign....
But meanwhile, back in Clovis...
...Clovis Municipal Schools Superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm said she has received numerous calls from community members on both sides and termed it a sensitive issue. Essentially the matter is a three-pronged issue, Seidenwurm said, involving First Amendment rights, privacy issues and community standards, all of which are equally important and must be considered. But the bottom line is no school policies were violated and there are no legal concerns about what was published, she said. It is a student publication and ultimately belongs to the students, who followed the rules, she said.
“We’re trying to look at it from all sides and address the issue. What we have to do is be very careful in whatever we do not to violate any First Amendment rights and be sur2e all of our board policies have been followed, but we do recognize that there is a segment of our community that is upset with those two pages of our annual,” Seidenwurm said. “I have had almost as many calls encouraging us to make sure we don’t violate the rights of any children.” [...]
I tell you what: I'm just cynical enough to predict the following: some of these "concerned citizens", most of whom don't have students in the school, will pack future school board meetings to get the yearbook content placed onto the agenda as an item of concern, and will eventually railroad through a change that says that all such content is expressly forbidden. Mind, it'll probably take the straight couples' photos and comments with it -- as a municipal high school, there are certain types of discrimination that the school is forbidden to engage in, and they're likelier to simply ban all such content rather than to police it. And because school-sponsored publications may legally be subjected to much more stringent content standards than you could get away with for a commercial publication, the students will just have to deal.
Or, it might just blow over, and then next year's students could do the same thing and nobody notices.
One can always hope...
Then again...
Discussion expected on school yearbook
Monday, May 26 2008, 6:46 pm
Clovis News-Journal Staff
The controversial Clovis High School yearbook is not a topic on the agenda at tonight’s school board meeting. But school Superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm said she expects area residents will be voicing their opinions on the subject during the meeting’s open forum. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the school administration building.
The yearbook has attracted criticism from some local religious groups and others because photographs of two lesbian couples were published in a segment on relationships. The segment also included photographs of nine straight couples.
Seidenwurm said all school board meetings include a public forum in which anyone can speak for three minutes on school-related topics. That forum takes place prior to the regular agenda at the beginning of the meeting. Anyone wanting to speak must fill out a form stating their name, Seidenwurm said. The superintendent said the forum may be limited to one hour if more than 20 people ask to speak.
Teacher resigns as yearbook adviser
Posted: May 27, 2008 10:43 AM
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) - A Clovis High School teacher is no longer the adviser to the yearbook, which this year came under fire for photos and interviews with gay couples. School officials say teacher Carol Singletary announced her decision before the controversy. Singletary says she's no longer adviser of the student-run publication but declined to answer questions.
School Superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm says Singletary resigned as the yearbook adviser about a month ago, before last week's controversy. The superintendent says the teacher told school officials that the yearbook needed more financial support from the school. Singletary remains a teacher at the high school.
Some Clovis religious groups and others criticized a yearbook section on relationships because it included photos of two lesbian couples. It also featured photos of nine straight couples.
I dare say there may be at least an hour of discussion in the open forum, yes.
It's going to be relentlessly interesting to see what sort of person becomes the next yearbook advisor, won't it?
Posted by iain at May 27, 2008 02:06 PM
