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Demand Wichita East High School Address Anti-Gay Editorial in School Newspaper
  1. Signatures
    1,818 out of 2,500
    Petitioning
    1. Assistant Principal (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Assistant Principal (Steven Shook)
      • Principal (Ken Thiessen)
  2. Created By
    Michael Jones
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

At Wichita East High School in Kansas, a student got the green light to author an editorial, and have it published in the school's newspaper (The Messenger), that said same-sex relationships were not normal, and then quoted from a Leviticus translation that says men who lie with other men should get the death penalty.

So much for creating a learning environment where all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, can feel respected and safe. In Wichita East High School, you can just get on the Internet or open up a copy of The Messenger and be told that you're not normal, and that some people think it's moral to have you killed.

The article, "Homosexual Teens Alienated By Current Societal Trends," is still available online here. (Here's a PDF in case they take it down.)

Among the points that the student author makes: "[Same-sex relationships] relationships just are not normal. One thing to notice is that there is legislation against homosexual marriage. However, there are no legislative restrictions to same-sex dating. Dating does often lead to marriage, so same-sex dating should be frowned upon."

And while that's offensive, it barely compares to this nugget: "Same-sex dating in high school is not accepted by many, despite the efforts of a few. It is a social disruption in many cases, and should be kept out of school to ensure our educational mission with as little of a distraction as possible."

Then comes the Leviticus nugget that anti-gay activists have been using for decades to justify discrimination and violence toward LGBT people: "Also, less commonly cited, is the death penalty called for in another Bible verse, Leviticus 20:13, 'If a man also lie with man, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.' These are the most common arguments against homosexual marriage and/or dating."

Send the folks at Wichita East High School a message that they should take steps to address the damage that this article may have caused. For starters, they can run an article in their next issue that talks about the importance of safe schools, and why it's absolutely necessary to talk about LGBT issues inside the classroom. Second, they can pledge to send a school-wide message that harassment targeted toward LGBT students or those perceived to be LGBT is never acceptable, whether in the hallways, or in the pages of the school's student newspaper.

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Recent Signatures

Please address anti-gay editorial in student newspaper

Dear Principal Thiessen and Assistant Principal Shook,

I recently saw an article that was printed in the student newspaper of Wichita East High School, The Messenger, that featured some particularly homophobic commentary and suggested that gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender students were abnormal.

While students are obviously free to hold whatever religious beliefs they would like regarding homosexuality, it is irresponsible to publish an article in the student newspaper that suggests that gay students are immoral, and that same-sex relationships are abnormal. Moreover, in this article, the author quoted a translation from the book of Leviticus, that suggested society should have the death penalty for people who are homosexual.

Publishing this kind of article is truly a failure of leadership for the faculty member (or members) in charge of the student newspaper. Again, I recognize that students are free to hold certain religious beliefs. But your job as educators is to make sure that all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, feel safe inside the classroom. Imagine being a gay student, and picking up this article and reading an editorial that calls you abnormal, and quotes from Bible passages that suggest it's moral to commit violence against someone based on their sexual orientation?

This article shouldn't have been printed. Now that it has, I urge you to make amends for any damage it might have caused. For starters, your school should commit to running an article in the next issue of The Messenger from someone well-equipped to talk about why LGBT students deserve acceptance in the classroom. Perhaps this article can also talk about high rates of bullying and harassment that gay students face in American schools -- factors that all too often lead to tragic suicides as we've unfortunately seen in recent years.

Moreover, your school should also pledge that it will do everything it can to address harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This should include a much more responsible policy for editorials in the student newspaper.

Thanks for your time. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to this concern, and hope that you will do what is right for all of your students, regardless of their sexual orientation. This article, simply put, did not lend itself to a safe learning environment for all students. That alone should have been reason not to print it.

[Your name]

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