Thoughts in a Haystack

Via Ed Brayton comes the story of a Florida school board that is considering banning all extra curricula clubs because some students want to form a Gay-Straight Alliance club. The Equal Access Act is a Federal law that requires that any school that receives federal aid and has at least one student-led non-curriculum club that meets outside of class time must allow additional clubs to be organized and must give them equal access to meeting spaces and school publications. Ironically, the law was lobbied for by conservative Christian groups who wanted student Bible study and prayer clubs to have access to public schools.

Not so much now:

Several pastors spoke against the Gay-Straight Alliance, but urged the school board to find a way to protect the other clubs.

Would it surprise anyone to learn that one of those other clubs is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes?

Besides the hypocrisy, plain ol' stupidity reared it ugly head:

Others spoke out against the alliance, saying the real issue is bullying. Students, they said, would not find the support they need in a gay-straight group.

"It's like gangs," said Lori Pitner, a Tavares resident who spoke in opposition. "More kids in gangs end up killed than are not in gangs. I don't see this as any different."

Of course not! Students banning together for the civil rights of other students and to prevent bullying are just like the Crips gearing up for the Bloods.

And:

"That your decision is based upon students. It's not based upon the ACLU, who I would consider a very large bully," said the Rev. Brooks Braswell from the First Baptist Church of Umatilla.

Riiight! Just like this:

Recently a gay student at Carver Middle School was told he was going to be hanged in front of the school to set an example. The next day the student who threatened him brought a noose.

Oh, wait a minute! The ACLU is just telling the school board that they will ask a court of law to make the board grant its students equal rights, not threatening to lynch them.

The good news is that Heather Jablonski and two other brave teachers have agreed to sponsor the GSA club and that a large group of supporters showed up at the meeting.

Oh, and one last thing. One of the other clubs that are now under threat is "cup stacking." I hadn't a clue what that was, so I looked it up:



While I stand in awe of Emily Fox's hand-eye coordination, somehow I think a club concerned with civil rights is every bit as important to student development, if not a tad more so.