Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
The Corunna board of education in Michigan has just stepped into a major First Amendment problem with a rash decision to remove a poster put up by the Diversity Club. The poster in question was nothing more than pictures of nine prominent gay people from sports, politics and entertainment.
The Corunna Board of Education voted Monday to remove a club project in a display case at Corunna High School that highlighted the acceptance of homosexuality and alternative lifestyles.The Diversity Club's display featured about nine photos of athletes, politicians and educators who live a homosexual lifestyle, Corunna Superintendent Dr. Mark Miller said.
Ack, no. Not nine people who "live in a homosexual lifestyle" -- there is no such thing -- but just nine homosexual people. Homosexuals have no more common a lifestyle than straight people.
With numerous parents complaining about it, the Board felt it best to have the project removed from the case - as there are just 10 days left in October..."We only had a problem with this specific display," said Maureen Stanley, president of the Corunna Board of Education. "The club will continue ... it has nothing to do with the club. The specific display, however, has been amended."...
The group's October's theme, profiling gay and lesbians, would be better dealt in other scenarios such as in human sexuality or diversity classes, according to members of the board, Stanley said.
"The display case may confuse other kids," she said. "High school kids can be very impressionable so that might be better dealt with in those classes."
Stanley said because the display case limits the amount of information given to students, a more informational setting is necessary to discuss the alternative lifestyles.
"We aren't going to review everything that this club does," Stanley said.
"We did not feel that was something that needed to be highlighted in the school, that's basically it," Trustee Lyle Brooks said.
I've got some advice for the school board: Give up. Now. And apologize. And put the poster back up. Because if you try and fight this out in court you're going to lose and you're going to lose badly. And then you're going to pay the legal fees of the other side.
Update: The school backed down almost immediately and is reversing their decision. Smart move.
Politics
Comments
Or something like that. You know, just like teenagers always do what they're told.
Posted by: James Hanley | October 31, 2009 9:27 AM
James, right on with your dialogue! People forget what it's like to be a teenager.
Posted by: Monado, FCD | October 31, 2009 10:03 AM
Maybe he was worried teenagers would get the idea that you can be gay *and* successful. Can't have kids thinking that now can we?
Posted by: peaches | October 31, 2009 10:13 AM
This might be a good time for the Diversity Club to prepare another poster, one on the First Amendment rights of LGBTs.
Posted by: Vincent Manis | October 31, 2009 10:41 AM
Anyone want to bet that "numerous" equals "one"?
Posted by: T. Bruce McNeely | October 31, 2009 11:07 AM
Later that day...
Posted by: chris | October 31, 2009 11:07 AM
I remember in high school, there were SADD posters all over the place, and most of the posters had very questionable statements.
My favorite was: "Alcohol is the #1 abused drug by teenagers"
And I thought to myself: "Are they trying to complain that other drugs are not more popular? I mean, there has to be a #1, so which drug do they feel should earn that title? The poster should just say- 'Stop Drinking, Start Doing Coke'"
Posted by: Jordan G | October 31, 2009 12:12 PM
The group's October's theme, profiling gay and lesbians, would be better dealt in other scenarios such as in human sexuality or diversity classes, according to members of the board, Stanley said.
Yeah. Those complaining parents would totally accept diversity classes.
Posted by: Chiroptera | October 31, 2009 12:29 PM
Surely the Diversity Club has a repressed Pentacostal type who could have told them what a bad idea this was. In between his swirlies.
Posted by: kehrsam | October 31, 2009 1:10 PM
Note the codespeak: 'live a homosexual lifestyle.'
This identifies the speaker as one who believes that there is no such thing as a homosexual orientation, only people who choose to be gay. It thus also identifies him as either very stupid, or intelligent enough to have an understanding of how to use subtle propaganda.
Posted by: Suricou Raven | October 31, 2009 1:38 PM
Meh, propaganda like that was a lot more subtle 10-20 years ago. It's become passe. I think at this point it just identifies the speaker as a doofus.
Posted by: Tom | October 31, 2009 1:52 PM
Call me a cynic (it wouldn't be the first time), but the fact that this was a theme for October and there are consequently no more school days in October make me think that the school board is betting that the Diversity Club will just move on to a different group and they will have still won the battle despite having conceded the issue. I would love to be proven wrong, but this doesn't feel like a substantial victory for the First Amendment.
Posted by: Mr. B | October 31, 2009 3:45 PM
Oh, please. I'm sick of this "high school students are impressionable" nonsense. Seeing a poster that advocates for diversity will somehow make them gay? Would seeing a poster that advocates for the Christian "lifestyle" make me a Christian, too?
Give kids in high school more credit. Damn.
Posted by: Matt | October 31, 2009 8:01 PM
While I'm sure a few gomers are worried that teenagers will turn ghey by exposure to a poster, I don't think this is the concern by "numerous" parents. No, they're probably much more worried that teenagers might learn to be tolerant. As we all know, we can't have that. No sir, we can't have that.
Posted by: j.t.delaney | November 1, 2009 11:06 PM
Chris @6,
Excellent scene 2!
Posted by: James Hanley | November 2, 2009 9:41 AM
Perhaps they would allow the poster if it was in a closet. So no parents have to think about it.
but it's okay. The diversity club can continue...(phew) it just can't advertise it's diversity. Nice.
Posted by: Richard Eis | November 4, 2009 7:36 AM