High School removes campaign posters of gay student

[JoFerret]

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/8526298.htm

(KRT) - Jarred Gamwell wants to be student council president at James Hunt High in Wilson, N.C.

He's got the resume for it. He plays sax in the marching and concert bands. He tutors other students and competes in the Science Olympiad. He has a 4.5 grade point average this year.

He's also gay.

So as part of his campaign, the 17-year-old junior put up posters last week with slogans he thought were catchy: "Queer Eye for Hunt High" and "Gay Guys Know Everything!"

But Principal Bill Williamson found the messages "disruptive of the educational process" and irrelevant to the campaign for student president.

So the principal ordered the posters taken down. A school attorney said Monday that Williamson has the right to limit school-sponsored speech.

Now, with the election just a day away, Jarred has enlisted the national American Civil Liberties Union and is prepared to sue to get his message out.

"I've stood up for things like this in the past, and I've taken the kind of abuse that gay people have to take," Jarred said in an interview with the Observer.

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[Q3JR4]

1. Saw this on

365gay.com.

That's right Mr. Gamwell, don't take nothing from no one.

Thank providence for the ACLU in this day and age.

[Adamocrat]

11. Also important to point out...

His opponent(s), without the need of any such declaration, are assumed to be heterosexual. Hetero people do not need to make such proclamations, it is assumed that if you don't say otherwise, you're a member of the club. I'm so happy that this young man had the courage to stand up and be proud of who he is. It is a tribute to all of the pioneers who died paving the way.

[Catfight]

2. I agree with the Principle

Why does his sexuality have to be apart of his credentials for student council? I agree that it's irrelevant as well. By all means, I don't think he needs to hide any aspect of who he is, but I find it hard to associate being gay as a catchy marketing ploy to win votes.

Can someone enlighten me as to how this is a censor issue?

[Catch22Dem]

3. I have to agree with you

Doesn't seem necessary or appropriate. Just as it doesn't seem necessary or appropriate to proclaim your "straightness" for the same purpose.

[Guaranteed]

5. Well, that's a good point.

"Vote for Jim because he's straight" would be a f*cked up campaign, for sure.

[sandnsea]

15. On the other hand

We gals like our slogans, The Bedroom and The Boardroom, Take the all male sign off the White House door, that other one a while back that played on the word House, I forget right now. So if you think of it in that context, it seems reasonable. I can see a girl getting away with something similar in high school. Or ethnic groups, they use their ethnicity all the time. Why shouldn't a gay kid make campaign posters in the same way?

[Guaranteed]

4. The real question is:

Is there a reason that this SHOULDN'T be an issue that the student can use in his campaign?

If there isn't, why stop him? Seems to me that anything that isn't totally inappropriate for one reason or another should be allowed.

You wouldn't disallow a poster that said, "Jim Smith loves butter on his toast! Vote for him!" would you? I mean, that's totally irrelevent, but there's no reason not to let him say that.

[maddezmom]

7. or Jim Smith has more football helmets for tackles

than anyone else running...He'll tackle problems. I don't see the posters as a problem in either case.

[Guaranteed]

8. I think Catch22 made a really good point, though

We can't have people campaigning with things like "Vote for Jim, because he's white" or "Vote for Jim, because he's a man," you know?

If someone that kid was running against had come back with a poster saying, "Vote for me because I'm heterosexual," you can only imagine the circus that would have ensued.

[Blasphemer]

14. I agree...

If a female student was running and had a slogan like - "if you want to get a job done, vote for a man, if you want to get it done right, vote for a woman", I really doubt they would have taken down her posters. In fact, I remember a guy running for Senior class president when I was in HS and he made sexist speeches about voting for a woman (his opponent was female) and, of course, he offended most voters and lost but no one made any issue of him using his gender (most just shook their heads at his stupidity). I don't see how using sexual orientation is a problem, especially in such a light hearted fashion using pop culture icons. This guy is taking a big risk considering people who won't vote for him specifically because he is gay, so I don't understand why it needs to be an issue.

[Adamocrat]

10. Most people ASSUME that everyone is hetero.

Some of us make a stand to correct this misconception. What's wrong with that? Heterosexuals never have to declare or announce their sexual orientation, but we do, or else we're called all sorts of colorful names.

The young man was probably trying to deal with this issue in a creative way. As a young, openly gay man who ran for student government little more than ten years ago, I can guarantee you that if HE hadn't mentioned his sexual orientation on his own posters, someone else would've been all too happy to scrawl "FAG" and other obscenities on them.

[Kinkistyle]

16. "Sexuality" is obviously a touchy subject for school elections.

Regardless of whether you assume he's heterosexual or not, he's running on a platform of sexuality, which is going to set off alarms all over the place. Kind of like saying "Vote for me, I'm still a virgin". Yeah, thats great and all, but is it appropriate for a campaign poster at school? Probably not. I don't think this is a "singling out" of the homosexual boy, so while it might be a form of censorship, I don't think its prejudiced.

[markses]

6. Just testing new sig

n/t

[Barkley]

9. The posters may be 'irrelevent' but the students should decide not

the principal. That's how its supposed to work in a democracy.

If his posters are so 'irrelevant'to the campaign then why make such a 'big deal' about them. In fact, the principal's actions are making it more relevant to the outcome of the election.

I am not convinced that the posters are disruptive to the educational process.

I also disagree with the the principals logic that says 'gays guys know everything' is the same thing as saying 'white guys know everything'. Its funny how gayness is elevated to the status of a race when necessary or convenient.

[Laughing Mirror]

12. Censorship

This is censorship. This is denial of freedom of speech.

Two posters out of ten carry the gay message. It is in this context that the posters should be considered. The school board guy is wrong even comparing the message on the one poster, Gay Guys Know Everything to saying Whites Know Everything, because the first message is not racial and is not inciting racial violence, but the school board guy's is.

It sounds like comedy a poster saying Straight Guys Know Everything but there is no logical reason why a straight guy couldn't put that on one of his campaign posters if he wanted to. People would laugh.

This 17-year old gay guy should be applauded for using his voice. Using popular TV shows everybody knows to help get his message across. He should be receiving support from people here and in his community for taking this bold stance, for being vocal, speaking out, rejecting homophobia and standing up and saying it in a way even a homophobic society, as I'm sure his North Carolina high school is, can at least understand.

[demdave]

13. So, "I am not the gay guy" would be an acceptable poster?

Now that sexual preferences have been deemed acceptable, I guess "If you are straight then vote for me" would be OK also.

I do not think it is appropriate to emphasize your sexual experience, preference or leanings in high school. For that matter, I think you would be a fool to run on the platform of "I get laid more than XXX" even in college.

Let's try running on issues for once.

[ConcernedCanuk]

17. It was a dumb move on the part of the student

.
.
.

but the principal should not have reacted the way he did.

The student body will soon let the candidate know in their voting whether or not the posters were offensive.

dumm principal too,

would have been a "non" issue in a day or two

Now it's gone national

hmmm - thought just popped into my overtired canuk brain

maybe the kid KNEW the principal would overreact?

Things that make ya go hmmmmm . :freak:

[Moderator]

18. locking

copyright rules violation