Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Parents blast Day of Silence
Group speaks out at school board meeting against students’ protest of anti-gay behavior.
By Angela Hokanson
GLENDALE — A group of more than 20 parents showed up Wednesday at the Glendale Unified School District board meeting to oppose the district permitting students to participate in any activities related to the Day of Silence, a national campaign designed to call attention to the harassment and bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth in schools.
During the Day of Silence, which will take place today across the country, students take a temporary vow of silence to raise awareness about the “silencing” of homosexual students and their friends through harassment. The event is organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national organization seeking to ensure that schools are safe for all students regardless of their sexual orientation.
A contingent of Glendale High students plans to take that vow of silence until the end of the school day as part of the protest, said Christa Bretz, a teacher at the school and the advisor for the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club. The students will eat lunch together in silence and discuss their experiences at the end of the school day, she said.
“They are protesting against any form of harassment,” she said.
Students had to turn in signed permission slips from teachers before they could decide not to talk. About 250 students have turned in slips.
“We’re getting a really big turnout in terms of interested students,” Bretz said.
This year’s national Day of Silence campaign is being dedicated to Lawrence King, an eighth-grade student in Oxnard who was shot to death in February — allegedly by a classmate, and because of his sexual orientation.
Parents at Wednesday’s board meeting intended to speak during the public comment period but missed that portion of the meeting. So when the meeting was in recess, Glendale Unified School District Supt. Michael Escalante talked to the parents and other audience members informally in the board room.
The school district is not endorsing students’ participation in the Day of Silence, Escalante told the parents, but it also cannot prevent students from opting to be silent.
“When students walk into a school, they don’t put aside their First Amendment rights,” Escalante said. “As long as they follow the rules, they can say and do a lot of things that we don’t like.”
Often misperceptions like this can arise because people in the community think the school district is supporting a given event, when in reality the district is just allowing students to exercise their individual rights, he said.
“That’s where the rub occurs,” he said.
During the discussion, parent Naira Khachatrian — who said she spoke for the assembled parents — said she was upset that she found fliers advertising the Day of Silence on walls at Glendale High School. She questioned whether the school district was supporting the event because the fliers were up at school.
Khachatrian contends that discussions or events about homosexuality had no place in schools.
“This is not a school issue. This is an adult issue,” she said Thursday.
Khachatrian said it isn’t appropriate for students to be silent at school for a cause like this, because it served to make other students aware of homosexuality — which Khachatrian said does not exist.
It is unfortunate that people are voicing such intolerant ideas, Bretz said, and ironic that it is happening during the same week as the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, a historical example of prejudice and intolerance.
While Khachatrian insists that many other Armenian parents share her views, there are certainly those who don’t.
Glendale resident Nancy Kent, who spoke at the school board meeting in favor of students’ right to protest ill treatment by other students, supports the event.
“I think it’s very courageous of students to take an action supporting stopping name-calling and harassment of any minority group,” Kent said Thursday.
The superintendent’s measured response to the parents’ concerns was sound, Kent said.
“I think that what Dr. Escalante said yesterday was one of the most moving, inspirational things that I’ve ever heard in my life,” Kent said. “When he explained that students have the First Amendment right to make a political statement as long as they don’t disrupt the school or use inappropriate language — even if we don’t like the political message they’re expressing, they have the right to express it. And he very calmly and firmly defended their right, and it was a wonderful thing to hear.”
ANGELA HOKANSON covers education. She may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at angelahokanson@latimes.com.
During the Day of Silence, which will take place today across the country, students take a temporary vow of silence to raise awareness about the “silencing” of homosexual students and their friends through harassment. The event is organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national organization seeking to ensure that schools are safe for all students regardless of their sexual orientation.
A contingent of Glendale High students plans to take that vow of silence until the end of the school day as part of the protest, said Christa Bretz, a teacher at the school and the advisor for the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club. The students will eat lunch together in silence and discuss their experiences at the end of the school day, she said.
“They are protesting against any form of harassment,” she said.
Students had to turn in signed permission slips from teachers before they could decide not to talk. About 250 students have turned in slips.
“We’re getting a really big turnout in terms of interested students,” Bretz said.
This year’s national Day of Silence campaign is being dedicated to Lawrence King, an eighth-grade student in Oxnard who was shot to death in February — allegedly by a classmate, and because of his sexual orientation.
Parents at Wednesday’s board meeting intended to speak during the public comment period but missed that portion of the meeting. So when the meeting was in recess, Glendale Unified School District Supt. Michael Escalante talked to the parents and other audience members informally in the board room.
The school district is not endorsing students’ participation in the Day of Silence, Escalante told the parents, but it also cannot prevent students from opting to be silent.
“When students walk into a school, they don’t put aside their First Amendment rights,” Escalante said. “As long as they follow the rules, they can say and do a lot of things that we don’t like.”
Often misperceptions like this can arise because people in the community think the school district is supporting a given event, when in reality the district is just allowing students to exercise their individual rights, he said.
“That’s where the rub occurs,” he said.
During the discussion, parent Naira Khachatrian — who said she spoke for the assembled parents — said she was upset that she found fliers advertising the Day of Silence on walls at Glendale High School. She questioned whether the school district was supporting the event because the fliers were up at school.
Khachatrian contends that discussions or events about homosexuality had no place in schools.
“This is not a school issue. This is an adult issue,” she said Thursday.
Khachatrian said it isn’t appropriate for students to be silent at school for a cause like this, because it served to make other students aware of homosexuality — which Khachatrian said does not exist.
It is unfortunate that people are voicing such intolerant ideas, Bretz said, and ironic that it is happening during the same week as the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, a historical example of prejudice and intolerance.
While Khachatrian insists that many other Armenian parents share her views, there are certainly those who don’t.
Glendale resident Nancy Kent, who spoke at the school board meeting in favor of students’ right to protest ill treatment by other students, supports the event.
“I think it’s very courageous of students to take an action supporting stopping name-calling and harassment of any minority group,” Kent said Thursday.
The superintendent’s measured response to the parents’ concerns was sound, Kent said.
“I think that what Dr. Escalante said yesterday was one of the most moving, inspirational things that I’ve ever heard in my life,” Kent said. “When he explained that students have the First Amendment right to make a political statement as long as they don’t disrupt the school or use inappropriate language — even if we don’t like the political message they’re expressing, they have the right to express it. And he very calmly and firmly defended their right, and it was a wonderful thing to hear.”
ANGELA HOKANSON covers education. She may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at angelahokanson@latimes.com.
Save/Share
 |
 |
|
| Faring well with science | Speaking out with silence |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of glendalenewspress.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
Not registered yet?
RSS