October 2, 2007
So, pulling a Dr. Laura and calling gay people a biological error isn’t inflammatory, huh?
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Gays slammed in school paper
An editorial in a Kell High inaugural student publication characterizing homosexuals as victims of reproductive error or an unwanted upbringing has caused a storm of controversy among some students and faculty on the north central Cobb campus.
. . .
Principal Trudie Donovan said Monday that she had reviewed the article before it was published last Friday, but said she had no authority to censor it. “My job is the safety and security of the school, not censorship,” she said.
Cobb County schools spokesman Jay Dillon said principals have no legal standing to say articles of student opinion can’t be printed. … Exceptions might include obscenities or something that might cause a riot at school, Dillon said. “In such cases, she [Donovan] would be protected in censoring materials.”
The opinion piece appeared in Friday’s debut edition of the Inkwell, titled, “Homosexuality: Beyond the Bible.” In it, Benjamin slams gays not on religious or Biblical grounds but, he said, based on science and logic. “I realize biology commits many reproductive errors. Homosexuality can be one of them,” he wrote.
. . .
In December 2004 in Gwinnett County, Berkmar High Principal Kendall Johnson directed that a pair of editorials written for the school’s student newspaper dealing with homosexuality be yanked. The missing editorials had been written about a new club for heterosexual and homosexual teens called the Gay Lesbian and Straight Society. School system officials said Johnson ordered the student editorials removed because he believed they could have caused a stir at Berkmar during exam time.
Gwinnett schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach said the “point-counterpoint” editorials were “inflammatory in nature and could be disruptive. People have very strong feelings about this issue,” she said at the time.
Filed under: Education/Schools, Hate Speech, Youth
