The professional anti-gay activists in our community are very unhappy with the compromise policy on theatrical presentations being recommended by the School Board Legislative and Policy Committee. They are demanding that the policy be defined exclusively by their viewpoint, that any mention of sexual difference or positive depictions of GLBT people by students should be prohibited.
The following is an excerpt from a constituent newsletter by anti-gay lobbyist and county supervisor Eugene Delgaudio, trying to rally his supporters to storm the June 14 School Board meeting.
SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE ABANDONS PRO-FAMILY SIDE AND MAKES LIBERALS HAPPY?
Please read a verbatim published account from a local newspaper. It is
all the bad news that I told you about. The action by the School Board
committee, 5 to 0, is a major defeat for pro-family forces in Loudoun
County. Under the heading of respecting “free speech”, anti-Christian
propaganda will now be forced upon crowds of innocent people routinely
in Loudoun schools. With five School board votes voting this way, it
does not look good for pro-family forces in Loudoun.Mark Nuzzaco, Robert DuPree, Bob Ohneiser, Thomas Reed, Joseph Guzman.
All members of the Legislative Policy Committee, voted for a “Make
Liberals Happy Policy”.These are direct quotes from the published source. The next meeting of
the School Board is Tuesday June 14 (yes, primary day) at 6:30 p.m. A
motercade of pro-family cars is meeting at 6 p.m. at the local Food Lion
to go to the meeting. They will demand that a policy that prevents
pro-homosexual anti-Christian propaganda from happening again to be passed.Right now, read and weep:
(QUOTE from local newspaper, May 29)
School Panel Agrees on Plays Policy
Full Board to Vote on Rules for Student DramaA committee of the Loudoun County School Board voted Wednesday to
recommend a policy that would ban obscenity in school plays and require
that student drama take account of community sensibilities. The policy,
however, would not directly mention sexuality.The policy endorsed in a 5 to 0 vote by the board’s legislative policy
committee now goes before the full nine-member board, where it could
still be revised.(SUPERINTENDENT HATRICK HAPPY)
The proposed policy on school plays relies heavily on wording suggested
by School Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III.The board has been wrestling with a policy on student theater
productions since the Stone Bridge High School drama club performed
“Offsides,” a one-act play written by a student, in February. In the
play, a popular football player is rejected by friends after revealing
homosexual impulses. The show contained a scene in which two boys
approached one another as if to kiss before the stage lights went dark.“Offsides” sparked anger from some parents and other community members
who said it was inappropriate for high school, but it was defended by
others who felt that students were exercising free speech.(PRO-FAMILY LANGUAGE DROPPED)
Committee members spent 3 1/2 hours painstakingly examining the policy
word by word Wednesday. Members proposed banning plays that “depict
sexual acts” or “contain sexual themes.” Committee Chairman Mark J.
Nuzzaco (Catoctin) proposed forbidding content that is “obscene, lewd,
lascivious, profane, slanderous or libelous.” Each of those motions was
defeated.Instead, the policy to be considered by the full board relies heavily on
wording proposed by Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III. It says that
plays should “challenge, nurture and extend student skills while
adhering to the basic educational mission of teaching students
boundaries of socially appropriate behavior, the rights and
responsibilities of the exercise of free speech and the importance of
taking into consideration the sensibilities of the community.” It also
says that “theatrical presentations involving obscenity shall not be
permitted.”(GUIDELINES WOULD ALLOW PRO-HOMOSEXUAL PLAYS)
Hatrick would be directed to issue guidelines to principals about how
best to implement the policy. He said he was still working on such
guidelines, but a sample he provided would instruct principals and drama
teachers to consider whether a play was “appropriate to the emotional
maturity of the target audience.” The guidelines would also prohibit
plays depicting “vulgar or lewd acts.” Principals would have the option
to convene an advisory committee but would make the final decision about
whether a play should be allowed.(REED CHAMPIONS FREE SPEECH FOR LIBERALS)
Thomas E. “Tom” Reed (At Large) voted against several motions to make
the policy more far reaching, explaining that he was using the play “The
Diary of Anne Frank” as his standard. The play deals with challenging
subject matter that would be appropriate for high school students but
perhaps not for younger children, Reed said. But he said he was
unwilling to vote for any policy that could be interpreted as barring
the classic work.School Board members turned frequently to lawyer William Chapman for
advice and said they would ask him to review the language again before a
final vote.(GEURIN DISAPPOINTED)
J. Warren Geurin (Sterling), who is not a member of the committee and
was not eligible to propose amendments, told fellow board members that
he did not think that what they had done was “enough of a prohibition.”
He had recommended a policy that would bar plays that “contain sexual
themes, promote sexuality or depict sexual acts.”(SAY STRAIGHTFORWARD WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED)
“I don’t quite understand why we look at this backwards,” he said. “Just
say straightforward what is not allowed.”But community members on both sides of the debate said they were
reasonably satisfied.Chris Stevenson, who is working with a group of residents called the
Community Levee Association of Loudoun County, called the committee’s
policy a “good first step.” The group, which he said is made up of a
core of seven or eight parents but has an e-mail list of about 100, had
put forward a policy that would have referenced the county’s family life
curriculum, which teaches that students should realize “the importance
of postponing sexual relations until marriage.”Stevenson said the association had not yet taken an official stance on
the committee’s policy, but he said the policy was “moving in the right
direction.”(MAINSTREAM LOUDOUN AND “TRANSGENDERED” LOBBY SATISFIED, ISN’T THAT SPECIAL?)
Jeri McGiverin, president of Mainstream Loudoun, which pushes for the
separation of church and state, also said she was mostly supportive of
the policy, as did David Weintraub, president of the gay rights
organization Equality Loudoun.Both sides said they planned to make suggestions before the full board
votes. No date has been set for a vote, but the board could begin debate
as soon as its next meeting June 14.
(unquote from published source)