Nikki Peet
The other day, we told you how Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi is refusing to allow 17-year-old student Nikki Peet (right) to start a chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance. The school’s decision not only violates federal law, but it also signals that officials care nothing about the safety of LGBTQ students.
The federal Equal Access Act, originally designed to protect student Bible study groups, dictates that if a school allows one non-curricular club to meet on campus, it must allow any non-curricular club to meet on campus. In other words, if a school allows a chess club, it must also allow a Gay Straight Alliance.
In this case, Flour Bluff High School has been allowing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to meet on campus. But rather than simply allowing the GSA, the district has apparently decided to kick the Fellowship of Christian Athletes off campus, and bar all other other non-curricular clubs. Wow.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports:
Superintendent Julie Carbajal said she has asked the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to meet off campus while the district studies the legality of allowing the club while disallowing a club supporting homosexual students. She said there is no chance the district will approve the proposed Gay-Straight Alliance, but she will make sure all other school clubs are following the district’s policy.
“We need to be fair and equitable to all,” she said.
In disallowing the Gay-Straight Alliance, the district said it didn’t have to follow a federal law mandating schools offer equal opportunities for all students to organize. The district approved a policy in 2005 that did not allow student clubs not tied to curriculum to meet on campus.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which has been meeting on campus, may not be adhering to that policy, Carbajal said. She said the district is consulting with its attorneys on the matter.
“We feel like we need to follow the policy in place,” she said. “If we’ve made any wrong judgments then we have to fix that because we are not looking at changing our policy.”
Students from the GSA at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi were tentatively planning to protest Flour Bluff’s refusal to allow the GSA on Monday. However, it’s unclear whether that protest will go forward now that the district says it plans to ban all non-curricular clubs.
In the meantime, Change.org has launched a petition calling on the school to allow the GSA. Sign it by going here. If you’d like to contact school officials directly, the info is here.
Dear Sir/Madam:
Hate is not a family value. Your decision clearly shows a flagrant insensitivity towards your LGBTQ students. Social clubs like the GSA foster friendships and understanding. Clearly, you must read the news. The isolation and harrassment associated with being LGBTQ in school is leading to rampant cases of peer abused driven suicide rates in the USA. By turning your backs on your LGBTQ students, you treat them like second class citizens. Where is your empathy? What if one of these children were YOURS? What if the GSA helped your child excel in school. What if the lack of the GSA led to your child running away from home, taking on extremely risky situations with regard to sexual activity and drug use, depression, trouble with the law, or at the very worst, suicide. By being bigoted against LGBTQ children, you have failed them as leaders. You should step down. Further, a SCHOOL DISTRICT’s laws NEVER supercede a FEDERAL law. Your thinking is ugly, wrong-minded, and just plain idiotic. You need to change your policy, and honor the LGBTQ students organization as much as you do the FCA. To ban all clubs meeting at school to thrwart the LGBTQ is more than just mean-spirited, it calculatingly bigoted in the most officious way possible. Bully for you for leaping back into the fifties.
Sincerely, Molly B.
Best unintentionally ironic quote: “We need to be fair and equitable to all,” said Superintendant Carbajal.
Why do homophobes always say the exact opposite of what they mean.
Glad to see that Texans continue to live up to their standards of ig’n’ance. Buncha yippee-yi-yo yo-yos….y’alls.
Fuck That Bitch
(Pardon my French)
You can bet your life this homophobic superintendent is two things:
1. republican
2. christian
This is not a surprise. Over 98% of republican christians are weak minded bigots. Their church and political party fill their heads with propaganda, telling them whom to hate. Come election time, the bigoted fools head to the polls, and pull the lever for the pro war, pro richest 1%, pro hate candidate.
Prejudices are damaging and have negative consequences no matter who the behavior comes from including the school superintendent and commenters David T, Montemalone and Mark. The prejudices expressed in some of the comments below are as harmful and unproductive as the behavior they are complaining about.
You are wrong, observer.
Institutionalized hate is the product of those that enforce it, and that bitch can go fuck herself. My guess is it will probably be her first, last, and only time. Ideally, she’ll shove her xtian, bigoted, fat head up her tight, skanky, putrid twat so she can see those few cells that constitute was passes for her brain.
Although there is a contingency who believes in this biggoted nonsense, please do NOT judge all Texans as “ignorant.” A lot of native and transplanted Texans are fighting the good fight for justice and equality down here and believe me, it’s often an uphill battle. I’m a PTA mom with 2 teens, a business, husband, home and elderly parents. I’m also a democrat and liberal and non-Christian. Most schools down here DO have LGBT organizations despite the religious right (which is neither). To David T. ie above comment, it’s ironic of you to comment on intolerance with an intolerant generalized biggoted comment. I’m sure you have small minded biggots where you reside also. Please rethink Texas!
What ever happened to equal opportunity? and equal rights? What does it really matter what your sexual orientation is as long as your not out hurting others. Is it really killing anyone if someone they know or dont know is gay or straight…. HELL NO! and its pissing me off to see that these people cant just let another person be happy without the bullshit they want to sling around and make drama involving the whole world. God isnt giong to smite someone just because they are gay…seriously? And if God is planning on smiting people for loving someone of the same sex the same way straight people love others of the opposite sex, then the bible lies and people who believe the crap are all going to hell….cause at some point in our lives everyone has sinned…and its not up to someone of this earth to judge anyone, human nature or not…its between an individual and THEIR GOD/ess and NO ONE ELSE…If the Gay/Straight Alliance can bring a peace on the subject, and help it so good people can stop hurting because they are different, by the Gods LET THEM DO IT! The world wont stop turning and end cause of that….Dont we have enough problems in the world, depriving us of the peace in heart and mind of knowing we can love who we want with out the bullshit ridicule from others just cause they dont think its right.
If superintendent Carbajal REALLY wants equality, she will institute the following policies for all STRAIGHT students in her district…
1. First and foremost, straight students will have to try much harder to commit suicide, which of course must be motivated by institutionalized heterophobia at all levels from the administration to the students.
2. Using the word “straight” will be an automatic insult, representing the worst offensive expletive that one could label another person…and it will be perfectly acceptable to use such a term against at ANYONE, ANYTIME to shut them up or put them in their place. If someone happens to actually be straight…tough! They’ll just have to suck it up!
i.e: if the prom queen happens to wear a particularly unfashionable gown, then everyone can say, “OMG! That gown is so straight!” Said prom queen should feel the appropriate level of humiliation, embarrassment, and isolation from her fellow students.
3. And speaking of proms…oh, well…never mind. There won’t be any proms for obvious reasons.
4. There will be absolutely NO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION between heterosexual couples ANYWHERE, at ANY TIME! “Young love” must cease to exist and the very fact that people of any sex are attracted to and want to show said affection toward any other human being will offend and insult every parent, teacher and administrator. Such displays will make other students in the halls and classrooms feel sick. Other students will be perfectly justified in using any means necessary to stop such PDA’s, including acts of violence. Straight people should just know better than to actually express who they are and how they feel in public. It’s SCHOOL for crying out loud.
5. Straight students will have to come to school every day and spend 7 hours being poked, pushed, prodded, degraded, and minimalized until they just want to hang themselves before they have to go back and go through it again.
6. Straight students cannot have access to any positive influences, role models, mentors, or social support groups that would in any way make them feel like worthwhile human beings. Obviously, if straight students were to actually feel like they “fit in” and were “normal,” “safe,” and “accepted,” well, that would just encourage them…er, to feel…um, normal, safe, and accepted, and sort of like…they fit in. That can’t be….if that happened, who could others look down on…who would we be able to judge…
Yes. I think we would all be ultimately better off if these rules were implemented in our schools…it would clearly be MORE FAIR AND EQUITABLE! Can you please work on that, Ms. Carbajal?
THE SUPERINTENDENT IS UMBRIDGE. And Nikki Peet is Harry Potter. Save Dumbledore’s Army!
Homosexuality is not a family value. The school system is doing the right thing to protect children from homosexuals.
Glad to see a state in this country with the backbone to stand up for morality instead of folding to all the liberal doctorine. Way too many states / organizations (that disagree with the movement) are supporting it for fear of law suits, and losing money (not because they think it’s right). Guest… you’re close, but we don’t need to protect children from homosexuals, but we do need to protect them from being forced to accept immorality.
First off people should be able to gather for anthing they want or have a group about.
The people of the LGBTQ are not bad people. I think it’s disgusting, but that is my opinion and beliefs. We, as Christians(Republican or Democrat), are called to Love the person and hate the “SIN.” We should not hate both. they are allowed to make their own choice. although, i know God dis-approves of this and can quote many bible versus to prove it. The fact is that God gave them the same choice as He did us. So they made a different choice. it is not our job to judge, but God’s. Let them have their club. when it is all said and done. They will be judged. I think we should be more concerned about our economy, and not some schools choice to not allow a student club.
Wow, at least all of you seem measured and reasonable in your responses. Seriously, how are statements like “98% of all Christian Republicans are weak minded bigots” not exhibiting the same mentality that most of the commenters are condemning on the part of the superintendent? You may not agree with her, but she is forcing the TCA off campus while they investigate. She is forcing equal treatment as they work out the details. The absolutely repugnant comments of liberal posters does nothing to further your cause, and only serves to make you seem ignorant and belligerent.
I have no problem with my non-hetero brothers and sisters. However, we need to keep in mind that a public school is a government institution. Why should a government institution endorse something that a lot of citizens don’t agree with? (excuse the ridiculous examples, trying to make a point…) Would we be complaining if the school district disallowed a Satanic student group that advocated animal sacrifice, a radical Islamic student group that advocated violent actions against non-believers, or just an Anarchist group that advocated the overthrow of the federal government? No, we wouldn’t be complaining, because we can easily see why the school shouldn’t endorse that sort of behavior.
Perhaps it does in fact make sense to not have the government institution, in this case a public school, not endorse or allow meetings of controversial groups on campus. Sorry Christians, if you want your kids to be able to openly worship and observe in school you should send them to a private school that allows such activities.
And sorry liberals who support gay rights. It’s not the governments place to endorse a particular lifestyle. No I don’t think sexual orientation is a choice, nor do I think that one is morally superior to the other. I would just as quickly decry a “Heterosexual and Proud Of It” student group.
What’s more, liberals should learn to understand that it is possible to disagree with something without “hating” it. You’ve devalued the word. Hate, a once powerful word, is applied to any group or individual that disagrees with a policy endorsed by liberals. I can oppose a policy without “hating” those that said policy would affect.
If you “Christians” will read what the superintendent said, She’s will to bring the athletes association back but will never let the GSA on campus. THAT’S AGAINST FEDERAL LAW! I still believe in separation of church and state, it keeps the idiots that want to force their views down my/your throat from doing so. I think the FCA should meet at a local church, not at the local public school,period.
The super, Julie Carbajal, is not an ignorant, conservative, born-again, homophobic whacko. She’s a south-Texas educated (?), liberal, Catholic, afraid-for-her-life & job, mother of special-needs child, sole-support of family, ready for retirement, well-meaning but misguided TYPICAL administrator. Don’t be a hater, too. Texas can mess up even good people. Flour Bluff is a sh**-hole. A few good people live there, believe it or not. Pity the poor souls.