Dan Bucatinsky: More Than I Can Chew
Principal outs his students
Filed under: Teens, In The News, Day Care & Education, Sex
Here in San Francisco, being a gay high school student may not be the easiest path, but it is certainly not as dangerous as in other areas of the country. There are, sadly, places where simply being gay can -- and does -- lead to harassment, assault, and even death. I don't know where Tennessee falls on the tolerance scale, but given the 56 anti-gay hate crimes in 2007, I imagine it's not quite San Francisco.So, I could understand that teenage boys might not want to advertise their sexuality to the whole school. Too bad the principal at Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in South Memphis didn't understand that. Daphne Beasley asked her staff for the names of students who were paired up, ostensibly to be able to control public displays of affection at the school.
Unfortunately, what she did with the list of couples was much worse -- she posted it where staff, students, and even parents could see it. On that list were Nicholas and Andrew, two boys who had just begun a relationship. "It was actually frightening," said Nicholas, an 11th grader, "to see a list with my name on it where not just other teachers could see but students as well."
Since then, things have not been the same at school with the teachers and other students. Both boys have been subjected to verbal assaults and Nicholas was not allowed to join other students in rebuilding homes in New Orleans because, according to one teacher, he would "embarrass" the school with his gayness.
So far, the response from the school district has been that no one did anything wrong. I guess what passes for wrong in Tennessee is not the same as elsewhere. "I really feel that my personal privacy was invaded," said Nicholas. "I mean, Principal Beasley called my mother and outed me to my mother!" I don't know about in Tennessee, but that counts as doing something wrong in my book.
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
RelatedVideos
-
Choosing Diapers: Cloth or Disposable
It's a concern for any new parent – what kind of diapers to buy. These days there are more options than just cloth or disposable. Green Living Expert Terri Bennett shows you how to find the right fit for your baby.
-
You've Got Dr. Phil's 3 Top Parenting Tips
In this edition of You've Got, Dr. Phil offers three of his best parenting tips to maintain harmony in the household.
-
How to Speak Sign Language with Your Baby
Sign Language is a groundbreaking way to communicate with young children that is impressing parents everywhere. By introducing basic elements of sign language at an early age, you can not only accelerate the speech development skills of your infant, but keep in closer touch with their needs.
-
Toddler Talks Marketing
A toddler shares her opinion on how toys are marketing to girls and boys.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
5-08-2008 @ 4:00PM
PJ said...From an English guy: In a country where homosexuality was accepted, this would be perfectly fair. But until homosexuality is not seem by backwards Americans as being something that warrants hatred, verbal abuse, physical violence, and even sexual violence, then yes, gay people should get special treatment. And no, I'm not gay, I just think it's stupid (an understatement really) to do something that you know will cause violence to teens - and anyone in the obviously homophobic school mentioned above knows damn well that telling everyone that a particular student is gay will cause violence.
Those who have been victims of violence as a result of the principal's disgusting actions should sue the school, and also the police for not doing anything about it. The principal is an accessory to violence.
The principal could have spoken to the couples individually, or put up a blanket notice about what would happen if students were seen being "too" intimate. I'm willing to bet that (considering the teacher's are clearly homophobic) she did this deliberately because she's homophobic.
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 4:27PM
Melissa said...I'm from Tennessee, and I have no problem with homosexuals. What I have a problem with are the generalizations being made about my home state in this article. Sure Tennessee may be a little behind the mark on the acceptance of liberal ideals (I myself am a liberal and disagree with much of what the majority of residents within TN vote for at times - the President for example), but calling out an entire state due to one idiotic principal's mistake is just silly. Not all high schools in Tennessee or the south for that matter bash gays on a daily basis or out them to their parents. There were several gays and lesbians at my high school growing up in Chattanooga, a few of which were my friends and none of which were "exiled" from the school community or school activities and groups. Please by all means, go ahead and rip Daphne Beasley to shreds, but please try and leave entire states out of it. You might just lose some of your readers.
Reply