ACLU says school censored student's (Harvey) Milk report

[tomm2thumbs]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday threatened to sue a San Diego County school that refused to let a student present a report on slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk until her classmates got permission from their parents.

According to Blair-Loy and Natalie's mother, Mt. Woodson Principal Theresa Grace concluded last month that the subject of the girl's project triggered a district policy requiring parents to be notified in writing before their children are exposed to lessons dealing with sex.

After the principal sent letters to parents alerting them about the "sensitive topic," Natalie was allowed to give her 12-page PowerPoint report during the May 8 lunch recess but not in class, Blair-Loy said. Eight of the 13 students in the class attended, he said.

"First my daughter got called into the principal's office as if she were in some kind of trouble, and then they treated her presentation like it was something icky," Jones said in a statement.

"Harvey Milk was an elected official in this state and an important person in history," Jones added. "To say my daughter's presentation is sex education because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/20/state/n172140D35.DTL&tsp=1

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This is why the ACLU is so important - her CLASSMATES had to get permission because of her report.

[baldguy]

1. If the parents of the other students object - fine.

If presentations are required for the course and they don't attend they shouldn't get credit for it.

[Infinite Hope]

11. Uh...

If giving presentations are required, they shouldn't get credit for their presentation because they didn't attend when others gave their presentations? Wow.

[baldguy]

14. If they don't meet the requirements to pass the course they shouldn't get credit.

There's always a little thing called "class participation" that is usually one of those requirements. If your parents' narrow bigotry forces you not to participate, you should expect to get credit for that portion of the class. Why is that difficult to understand?

[Infinite Hope]

15. Class participation is only sometimes a requirement...

some teachers require it, others don't. Even when they do, it's a grade on participation through the entire course. They don't go without credit for participation simply because they didn't participate during one project (and only one of the presentations in that project).

You obviously have an ax to grind on the issue. So be it. I certainly would want my child to participate, but I am capable of accepting that other parents might not. Their child might be a thorough participant in the class nevertheless.

You won't get another reply. If you don't get it, you never will.

[baldguy]

16. And some will never believe that their precious little snowflakes

might have to live in the real world sometime - and that they may be told something they don't want to hear.

[Divine Discontent]

19. and heaven forbid they find out that their child they tried to prevent from hearing about people

having homophobic gay-hatred and murdering because of differences turn out to be GAY! That'd shatter their world.

Speaking of Gay. Adam Lambert (Gay man) losing tonight to Kris Allen (Arkansas missionary/college ministry leader), the mediocre singer who cannot sing low, and cracks on high notes, and is just "sexy" wearing his tight clothes, beating out the superstar in the making Adam Lambert who blew the roof off the place with Queen and Kiss tonight, is a great example of gay-hatred in this country. My best friend's neighbor told him today she didn't vote for Adam because "he wears eyeliner, and I think he's Gay!" He told her, he is, and he's far better than Kris and I voted for him.

People are scared of the Gay!!!! oooohhhh scary!

[MauriceCobert]

2. Califonria is becoming a joke

That state used to be the pinacle of new thought and conscious achievement. Now it ranks with those in the deep south that have racial issues, the 3 G's and poor education. Congrats Ah nuld.

[Maat]

3. Tragically, this fifty-year-old Californian agrees ...

what's going on gets stranger and stranger by the minute.

[Tempest]

25. You can't even spell California, and that's not the only thing you got wrong

California has always had areas of the state that are highly conservative.

San Diego is one of those areas.

And if you're referring to Proposition 8, it was passed by a much smaller margin than the proposition it replaced (22).

[bitchkitty]

32. Southern California cities, maybe.

But I was born and raised partly in California, and there have always been white supremacists and racists there. I lived next door to a terrible racist family in Santa Ana. His daughter was not allowed to listen to the Supremes because they were black, and they were not the exception in my neighborhood - several families were the same way, although not as vocal. There were no blacks at my high school, which was separated into two groups - white and Mexican.

Years later, I live in Oregon now, and I've met more racists here than I ever met in my 30 years living in Georgia. When my boss found out that it offended me, she thought it was hilarious to say "nigger" when talking to me or someone within my hearing, injecting the word into the conversation at every opportunity.

Portland is supposed to be so progressive, and it is if you're a white college student drinking latte in Pioneer Square - but this place is self-segregated and hypocritical. Of course it has its good points, and it is progressive in its way. Portland has some good people, but give me Atlanta over any city on the Left Coast any day.

[donco6]

4. Was she showing pictures of his penis?

What's controversial? This just boggles the mind.

[Enrique]

6. it could be true...

I've heard gay men do have penises. :scared:

[donco6]

7. That, in my experience, has been true. n/t

[davidinalameda]

21. isn't wonderful!

:bounce:

[QC]

8. In the minds of the bigots, gay = buttfucking.

They can't get their minds above their crotches, so they assume nobody else can, either.

It's really weird--I don't look at neighbors and coworkers and imagine what sex acts they must perform, but some people seem to be trapped in some sort of eternal adolescence.

[scentopine]

17. Ha... good one!

[Enrique]

5. I'm going to assume the school and principal will apologize

if on the other hand they try defend this boneheaded move, I don't know what to say.

[imdjh]

9. It's not California- it's the new religion: Ass Covering

You can find it everywhere, in nearly every facet of society.

It's closely related to the Church Of Dumbing Down.

[shadowknows69]

10. That's pretty fucked up right there.

[GreenTea]

12. San Diego is always in the news for some backward right-wing republican shit......

I'm glad I live in a very progressive part of the state the beaches of Humboldt county...No wonder why so many people here come from San Diego to surf, fresh air, beautiful no crowd beaches, hiking the rivers & hills, gorgeous redwood trees, a progressive Humboldt State University, great organic foods & pot, artist galore, music, no one fucks with you and no one censors you, freedom to do as one pleases...that's the north coast (300 miles of it) in NORTHERN California!

[tomm2thumbs]

13. You should be getting paid for each new resident! That sounds wonderful

Hope it is contagious and spreads to the rest of the state - and soon!

[XemaSab]

18. And are the parents required to give permission before a student presentation on Bush?

The guy's a dickhead. :shrug:

[AndyTiedye]

20. The Fundies Believe that if their Kids Never Find Out There is Any Such Thing as "Gay"

that will prevent their kids from being gay.

[No Elephants]

36. And if they prevent their kids from catching gay, tthey won't have to send them to be cured. In

their world, it makes perfect sense.

[change_notfinetuning]

22. It's San Diego County. C'mon, give 'em a break. They've recently entered

the 20th century with only minimal kicking and screaming.

[No Elephants]

37. Do they ever plan to join the rest of us in the 21st Century, though?

[truthisfreedom]

23. So if she'd written a presentation on bush, that would have been censored because he's gay?

I mean his affect is so obvious, and gannon/guckert had like 30 overnights at the white house?

Seriously.

[BR_Parkway]

28. Man, the exploding heads on that would be great - "Was George Bush Gay?"

in that oh so slimy FAUX news sort of way.

If I was in that class, I'd be organizing everyone to write a paper about someone gay or lesbian. I'd be complaining to the principle that every mention of any person presumed to be heterosexual was a controversial topic that required parental consent. OMG, the stupid lives on be our educator's have become infected.

[defendandprotect]

34. What was the name of his old school lover . . . ??? Victor Ashe

Victor Ashe, the current/former American ambassador to Poland (formerly mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee and Exec. V.P.; C.F.O. of Fannie Mae), and their adulterous-bisexual relationship with a Las Vegas woman in 1984.

Mentioned in Kitty Kelley's book following the already publicized independent investigations of Skolnick and his colleagues:

That George W. Bush cohabited at his Texas ranch and elsewhere with the Mayor of a major city in Tennessee, says Kitty Kelley.

There's also the Franklin Case and Jeff the "journalist/prostitute" and his many overnight visits to the W White House

[One_Life_To_Give]

24. Lets volunteer reports on Hoover and John Wayne

We can be certain to include bits of both J. Edgar Hoover and the Duke/Ditches in drag. I suppose the kiddies would need permissions slips for those asz well.

[defendandprotect]

35. Wait . . . I know about J. Edgar "Mary" Hoover . . .

but . . . John Wayne?

Help!!!

[FreeState]

26. You can see the report she gave here (link)

http://www.aclusandiego.org/article_downloads/000812/Jones%20Harvey%20Milk%20presentation.pdf

This is a PDF of the Powerpoint slides used.

[imdjh]

27. Now you went and made me cry. But I cry every time I go to a Pride parade.

Seeing all those people in the parade, from the silly to the serious, tears come to my eyes. So much work and loss has gone into the gains, and without it there is no reason to believe that there would have been gains.

[Pale Blue Dot]

29. I'm very proud to say that in my school,

over 90% of the 6th grade students participated in this year's Day of Silence. As did the Principal.

No permission slip was required.

[JerseygirlCT]

30. That's so wrong.

And highlights so well the misperception that most homophobes have that gay people are sex-crazed maniacs, not "normal" people.

Sick.

[Omaha Steve]

31. We just watched Milk yesterday for the first time

We rented it from Netflix. We gave it 5 out of 5 stars. We will be buying a Blu-ray for ourselves.

We also support the ACLU for all it's work in our house! I remember in the 7th grade in Jr. High a college volunteer handing out wallet cards and facts about what to do if arrested etc.

It is wonderful to see news on the DU in LBN we would not otherwise see. I'm sorry it is to late for me too give this an R.

[defendandprotect]

33. Who ever said religion is good for mental health?

In fact, it seems to destroy all intelligence --

What cowardice!!!

But, glad the report was given, finally -- !!!