A week set aside to promote anti-bullying at St. Charles North High School became enveloped in controversy as some students decided to show their opposition to the LGBT community.
On Nov. 8, the first day of "Ally Week" at the school, three male students wore T-shirts with the slogan "Straight Pride" on the front and a Bible verse from Leviticus on the back. After students complained to school administrators about the T-shirts the boys were called into the dean's office. The students were not disciplined for wearing the T-shirts but did agree to the dean's request to black out a portion of the bible verse with permanent marker and never wear the T-shirts to school again. When two other boys came to school Nov. 9 with "Straight Pride" T-shirts ( without the bible passage on the back ) , they were asked to cover them with sweatshirts, and they complied with the request. Lastly, on Nov. 12 another boy wore a "Straight Pride" T-shirt to school; he was allowed to keep it on for the rest of the day.
In all of the cases school administrators, after talking with the students, determined that the boys did not intend to inflict physical or emotional harm and concluded they were just trying to make a statement about straight pride according to Jim Blaney, director of school and community relations. Blaney said that the school officials felt the students had a right to express their point of view because of the First Amendment; however, he added that others might see what they did as offensive or a form of bullying.
Blaney said that these events prompted discussions throughout the week among students, teachers and staff over First Amendment rights, political views and minority rights. The school, according to Blaney, decided to use this event as a teachable moment for all of the students that it's ok to disagree but respect is the key. Blaney noted that the school's poster promoting "Ally Week" is filled with signatures from students, staff and teachers and has been growing all week in the wake of the T-shirt controversy.
Amanda Harshbarger, a student at the school and a member of its gay-straight alliance ( GSA ) , said that "the fact that the bullies weren't punished may have led other students throughout the week to feel like they could wear the same kind of shirt without any consequences." She went on to say that "no matter who is being bullied it is wrong and shouldn't be happening in our schools regardless of who the person is." Harshbarger also said that many more people are paying attention to bullying in the school because of the T-shirt controversy but wished the response to this individual issue was dealt with immediately; however, she is happy with the school's overall response to combat bullying.
St. Charles North has had a GSA for several years and has had a curriculum in place to teach students about respect, bullying and suicide prevention since the spring of 2009, following the school district's summit on suicide prevention held earlier that year.
Blaney shared that teachers/staff wore "ally" shirts all week to show their support. Harshbarger noted that there are "ally" stickers with the message "If you feel bullied" on many classroom and staff office doors that direct students to adults.
Blaney told Windy City Times that the district's Parent University topic this week is "Bullying in the Cyber Age: What Parents Need to Know." There, attendees will hear from a student who has been bullied and another student who will teach the parents about social-media websites and how electronic devices are used. Harshbarger mentioned the Facebook page entitled "SCN Students against Bullying at CUSD303 School Board Meeting," which she set up with four other individuals so people can attend the board meeting to discuss what happened and work on an action plan to make sure that bullying is not tolerated at the school any more.
