Principal Jennifer Chauby is Combating Anti-Gay Slurs at Her School
WHAT A MESS!
Thank God and Al Gore for the Internet! 30 years ago, stuff like this would happen, and it went unnoticed. These days, news can spread like wildfire.
Case in point – a school in the Cleveland area of Ohio. North High School in Eastlake, Ohio is attracting some attention after a student and YouTube user posted a video of high school students engaged in a group chant at a football game between North and its rival, Willoughby South High .
Student Heather Ike recorded the fans chanting “powder blue faggots” at the opposing team. Willoughby’s team color is light blue.
“It is completely unacceptable and we will look at the video and see if we can identify students and they could be suspended,” says Willoughby-Eastlake Superintendent Keith Miller.
He says that the principal at North High School did hear the chanting and intervened but that is not on the tape.
Students told Channel 3 News today that these types of chants have been going on for years, and that South High School uses it’s own anti-gay slurs against North.
“This is not okay and we will address it, ” said Miller.
Asks Heather Ike, the former student who posted the video to YouTube: “What are the teachers teaching our children at Wiloughby-Eastlake Schools? With the combined efforts of Mentor High School’s gay-suicide track record, all of Cleveland’s Eastern city school districts need to be educated about bullying and hate crimes against gays and lesbians!”
WATCH THE VIDEO CLIP
We spoke with the principal of North High this morning. Jennifer Chauby. She has been at the school about 3 years.
“When I first arrived at this school, there was a sporting event, and something similar to this happened. I was appalled! And we immediately addressed the students and said this was not acceptable and educated them as to why.” explained Chauby. “We even started a gay/straight alliance group here at the school. Now two years later, for some reason, this slur has reared it’s ugly head again, and we will not tolerate it. “
“We have again, addressed the students and have said, THIS MUST STOP. We have speakers come in, in the coming months, who will also speak on the topic. We have had a bullying program in place and all our staff is sensitive to the needs of all students and I think we are very pro-active. It’s unfortunate this happened. But we are taking to steps to educate the students.”
How do we educate the young? At school? At home? How do we teach love. Acceptance. Compassion. Tolerance. And not hate?
That is the big question.
HATE and HURT, must STOP!
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