Ordinarily I’d say stories like these make me glad to live in NYC. But, since same-sex marriage is still illegal in NY State, well, I guess shit’s tough all over; particularly in one Mississippi school district stuck in the middle of the mickey fickey Bible Belt. Their prom scheduled for spring was cancelled after a lesbian student requested to attend with her girlfriend; and wear a tuxedo.
The student, an 18-year-old high school senior pictured here, said the prom cancellation was in retaliation for her efforts since the school’s policy requires that prom dates be of the opposite sex. The ACLU of Mississippi argued that banning same-sex prom dates violates constitutional rights. But instead of acquiescing to the student’s legal rights, the school board announced it wouldn’t host the event at all (because no event is better than one filled with those pesky gays).
To read the full article, click here.
The Menifee Union School District in California recently pulled all copies of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary from their shelves and is investigating what they consider “age-inappropriate” words. The controversy began when a student thumbing through ”oralism” and “orang” in the dictionary, found the recent entry “oral sex“. A parent complained to the school district after the child read the definition: “oral stimulation of the genitals.” (And how).
The school district is now forming a committee composed of principals, teachers and parents to determine whether the 470,000 entries are suitable for children. Free speech advocates (and sane people), worry that this is “needless and harmful censorship”. Seriously, why don’t you take a look at the Bible and let me know if the stories of rape, pillage, murder and the like are suitable for children? Or for that matter, check out one of any classically gruesome Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales.
The Executive Director of the California First Amendment Coalition stated, “If a public school were to remove every book because it contains one word deemed objectionable to some parent, then there would be no books at all in our public libraries. I think common sense seems to be lacking in this school.” Obvi. The school district might settle for trading the collegiate editions for Merriam-Webster’s Children’s Dictionary. (I’m sure the pictures are lovely.)
To read the complete article, click here.
