|
TODAY'S BUZZ
|
|
|
Tennessee high schooler: Principal assaulted me for pro-Gay-Straight Alliance t-shirt
From a news release
2011-10-05
|
|
This article shared 2934 times since Wed Oct 5, 2011
|
|
MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — A 17-year-old senior at Sequoyah High School was reportedly shoved, bumped in the chest and verbally harassed by his principal last week for wearing a T-shirt in support of efforts to establish a gay-straight alliance ( GSA ) club on campus. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Tennessee sent a letter to the school district today demanding that students' rights to free speech be protected in the classroom.
The ACLU has been assisting the student, Chris Sigler, in his and other students' efforts to overcome resistance from school officials to establish a GSA. Principal Maurice Moser had previously threatened to punish students who circulated petitions about the club.
"It is totally unacceptable that a young man who was peacefully exercising his First Amendment rights would have his speech shut down by the public school principal," said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee. "Last week's incident clearly illustrates the hostile environment LGBT students face at Sequoyah High School. Given this context, it's especially important that supportive voices like Sigler's can be heard in order to overcome the school's resistance to a GSA."
Sigler wore a homemade T-shirt to school last Tuesday that said "GSA: We've Got Your Back." A teacher ordered Sigler to cover up the shirt in the future. Sigler, knowing he had a right to wear the shirt, wore it again Friday, and resisted an order to remove the shirt. Sigler says that Moser then ordered all students out of the classroom, except for Sigler's sister Jessica, who refused to leave. According to both students, Moser then grabbed Sigler's arm, shoved him, and chest-bumped him repeatedly while asking "Who's the big man now?" Sigler's mother reported that when she arrived at the school, she saw her son seated in a desk with Moser leaning over him and shouting in Sigler's face. The Siglers filed a report about the incident that afternoon with the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.
"All I want is to have a GSA at my school to help stop the bullying against gays and lesbians and their friends who support them," Sigler said. "The shirt was a way to use my voice and show my support for the club. The way I was treated shows even more why we need a GSA here."
"All students deserve a safe and respectful learning environment. Harassment, abuse or censorship of any student — regardless of sexual orientation — is absolutely reprehensible as well as illegal," said Amanda Goad, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "We expect the police to investigate this quickly and fairly, and take statements from all witnesses who were present."
The demand letter to the school district can be viewed here: www.aclu.org/free-speech-lgbt-rights/letter-director-monroe-county-schools
The ACLU of Tennessee's associated alert can be viewed here: salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6147/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4824
|
|
|
|
This article shared 2934 times since Wed Oct 5, 2011
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Half of LGBTQ+ college faculty surveyed consider moving to another state due to anti-diversity, equity, inclusion laws 2024-05-01 --From a Williams Institute press release - Anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) laws have negatively impacted the teaching, research, and health of LGBTQ+ college faculty, according to a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. As a result of ...
|
| | Schools are back in downsized Chicago Pride Parade after merging under 'welcoming schools' umbrella 2024-04-18 At least four schools are back in the Chicago Pride Parade lineup after they were previously told they wouldn't be able to march in this year's celebration due to new limitations enforced by the city. They ...
|
| | Chicago Pride Parade downsizing: Politicians, corporations most affected, but private schools could still be in 2024-04-16 Nearly 100 groups are on the waitlist to be in this year's Chicago Pride Parade after city officials mandated the annual event be cut by almost 40 percent. The waitlist for the June 30 parade includes ...
|
| | NATIONAL Trans woman killed, Tenn. law, S. Carolina coach, Evan Low, Idaho schools 2024-04-12 Twenty-four-year-old Latina trans woman and makeup artist Meraxes Medina was fatally shot in Los Angeles, according to the website them, citing The Los Angeles Times. Authorities told the Times they found Medina's broken fingernail and a ...
|
| | Nex Benedict's autopsy report released 2024-03-27 The full autopsy report for Nex Benedict (he/they)a 16-year-old transgender and Indigenous student from Oklahoma's Owasso High School who died in February a day after a school fighthas been released. The Oklahoma Office of the Chie ...
|
| | An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care 2024-03-26 With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...
|
| | No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal 2024-03-22 In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...
|
| | NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15 In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...
|
| | PASSAGES Bryan Dean Wilson 2024-03-14 Bryan Dean Wilson, 64, of Chicago, passed away March 11. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bryan graduated from Washington High school in Cedar Rapids before earning his B.S. in Biology from Mount Mercy University, also in ...
|
| | UPDATE: Nex Benedict's death ruled a suicide; family responds 2024-03-13 A medical examiner's report concluded that the cause of death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict (he/they) was suicide, media reports confirmed. Benedict—a 16-year-old transgender student—died Feb. 8, a day after ...
|
| | Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit 2024-03-11 On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...
|
| | Federal investigation initiated in Nex Benedict case 2024-03-02 The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has started an investigation into the Oklahoma school district where Nex Benedict, a transgender 16-year-old sophomore, went to school and was bullied before his death, The Advocate ...
|
| | NATIONAL School items, HIV/AIDS activist dies, Nex Benedict, inclusive parade 2024-03-01 In a new survey, the Pew Research Center asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the U.S. public about the ongoing scrutiny placed on classroom curricula, mainly regarding race and LGBTQ+ identities, ABC News noted. Among other ...
|
| | Activists and others urge removal of Oklahoma schools superintendent after Nex Benedict death 2024-02-28 TULSA, OKLAHOMA—Today more than 350 national, state, and local organizations advocating for equality across the U.S., alongside notable public figures, issued an open letter to Oklahoma legislative leadership urging justice ...
|
| | 911 calls, videos show cascade of failures in Nex Benedict's death, GLAAD responds 2024-02-24 "It is haunting to hear Nex Benedict, in their own words, describe how school and state leaders failed, at every level of leadership, to keep them safe from bullying and harm. Less than 24 hours later, ...
| |
|
|
|
|