Students Meet Protest, Support At First Day For Gay School

NY1 ^ | SEPTEMBER 08TH, 2003

[presidio9]

Protestors and supporters squared off as the nation's first high school exclusively for gay students opened its doors in Manhattan Monday.

Fifty students are attending the new Harvey Milk School in Greenwich Village, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls a safe haven for gay and lesbian students.

As students showed up for their first day of classes, about a dozen protestors, some from as far away as Los Angeles and Topeka, Kansas, shouted and waved inflammatory signs condemning homosexuality. But they were outnumbered on the other side of the street, where hundreds rallied in support of the school and the students.

“I’m here to support these kids, because this must be the worst experience for them – to come and see people protesting their school,” said one supporter.

“Public schools are about children,” said Randi Weingarten, the president of the teachers’ union, “and about ensuring children get a safe and decent and good education. And it doesn’t matter how many people are going to protest, how many people are going to try to suppress that, the union stands with the teachers who want to work at this school.”

The anti-gay protest aside, some critics of the school say that it is a form of segregation and that its $3 million budget could be better spent elsewhere. But education officials point out that many of Harvey Milk’s students had dropped out of other schools due to physical or emotional abuse.

“I think it’s important this school exists right now because of the lack of support most schools have from the Department of Education in terms of teacher training and diversity initiatives that keep kids safe in their normal schools,” said one of the supporters at the rally. “This is hopefully a short-term solution for a larger problem.”

The school is an expansion of a two-classroom program that began nearly two decades ago.

[rintense]

This is so wrong, I don't know where to start. But I'm sure if white, straight nerds wanted a school of their own, they'd be laughed out of the mayor's office.

[July 4th]

We need to start another thread: A betting pool for the date when this school will be closed by the public health department.

[ctlpdad]

I would suspect the absenteeism rate is substntially higher than a normal school.

[EdReform]

Bump and ping.

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[isthisnickcool]

What's the school mascot? The "Fighting Fellatio's"??

[Gerish]

Yuck - hate to be the janitor for that building!

[southernnorthcarolina]

About half of the student body showed up in flannel shirts and workboots. No word, however, on what the boys wore.

[george wythe]

I don't think that segregation between gays and straights is a good idea.

The traditional way to make a school majority-gay has been offering a high school with an fine arts program, which usually attracks a majority gay student body.

Creating this artificial gay-straight divide will not help the gay students at all, since gay people need to learn to interact with straight people to succeed in life.

[SamAdams76]

So does this mean that we can sue the school for discriminating against heterosexuals? Somebody there make a stand. Insist that your heterosexual child be enrolled there and that they cater to his/her every whim. Make sure that poor oppressed heterosexual child feels welcome and accepted in this hostile environment!

[presidio9]

What's the school mascot? The "Fighting Fellatio's"??

I believe they call themselves the Pirates.

[RonF]

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me how this school ensures that only homosexual kids enroll.

[Blzbba]

No, they're the Flaming Pillow Biters.

[alisasny]

The school mascot and team name is sadly the "blowfish".


( kidding )

[alisasny]

see 14

[Seamus Mc Gillicuddy]

I don't want to know what they "do with fudge" in home economics class. I bet they have a big order in for gerbils and hamsters for biology class.

[Centurion2000]

I believe they call themselves the Pirates.

Or the Rrangers or maybe the Burglars .... possibly Felchmasters or Snowballers ?

[PaxMacian]

“Public schools are about children,” said Randi Weingarten, the president of the teachers’ union, “and about ensuring children get a safe and decent and good education."

A decent education of children does not require defining them by sexual choices which they can not legally make.

[Clemenza]

But I'm sure if white, straight nerds wanted a school of their own, they'd be laughed out of the mayor's office

This white, straight nerd agrees with you. What would we call our High School though? Ed Grimley High?