News
2005-10-13
Superintendent
warns Utah school board against banning gay-straight club
Provo City [Utah]
School District superintendent Randy Merrill has warned
the district's school board that tryin
Provo City [Utah]
School District superintendent Randy Merrill has warned
the district's school board that trying to ban the new
gay-straight alliance at Provo High School would get
the district in legal trouble. "If you deny this
particular club, you will go to court," he told the
board of education at a study session Tuesday night. "You
will. I promise you."
As a result of the gay-straight alliance
application, the district is considering a policy that
would establish guidelines for clubs. Among other
things, it would require parental consent for students to
participate in extracurricular clubs. The board may vote on
the policy at its November meeting.
Provo High senior Kaisha Medford, who led the
effort to found the alliance, said about 50 students
have expressed interest in the club, which she said
would be "a social place where people can go and know
that they won't be picked on, where they're safe from
harassment, from being bullied."
Merrill said he might urge the teacher who has
agreed to advise the club, Mary Theodosis, to
carefully consider the responsibility. He said an
educator who allows unlawful activities to go on during
meetings could lose his or her teaching license. And a
club that violates the new policy, if it is approved,
could be dissolved. Theodosis said she got involved
because she wanted to help troubled teens. "I think these
kids are in a lot of trouble, and they need someone to help
them," she said.
She said she has heard from students that a
hostile environment exists for gay and lesbian
students on campus. "You hear all these nasty words
being spoken around the school all the time," she said.
"I think it's an awful thing to hear someone call you awful
names, and somebody needs to say, 'Hey, stop that."'
Gary Watts, the father of six children, two of
whom he said are gay, spoke in support of the club at
the regular board meeting. "We somehow need to create
a situation where more information is available," he
said. "I think having a gay-straight alliance in a
school in Provo could be a catalyst to create a situation
where students could get more information and learn to
respect the differences and diversity that's out
there," he said.
Robyn Brimhall and her son, Craig, a Provo High
senior, said they are concerned about the club forming
and said students at the school do not support it.
"I've been talking to a bunch of the student body, and I
haven't talked to one kid yet who is for it," Craig Brimhall
said. "I don't want that kind of thing associated with
my school." He said he was worried about students who
joined the club being targeted for violence.
Provo resident Grant Misbach said the club would
be so detrimental that "it'd be better to do away with
all noncurricular clubs."
The federal Equal Access Act, which was
cosponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, requires any
public secondary school accepting federal funds to
allow all school clubs equal access to its facilities. It
was aimed at protecting student religious activities.
The Salt Lake City School District banned all clubs in
1995 to prevent a gay-straight alliance from forming
at East High School. After lawsuits and student protests,
the district reversed its decision and allowed clubs
in the schools. (AP)
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