Posted on 05/08/2002 1:11:25 PM PDT by NativeNewYorker
KIRTLAND, Ohio -- What if a class assignment forced you to choose between getting a passing grade or following your moral values?
NewsChannel5's Kareen Wynter reported that one student decided to fight it, but it almost cost him the school year.
Many students dream of graduating school with high honors, but this student said that he has little to look forward to in his final weeks.
"It's a moral issue I have," he said. "I pay tuition to come to this school. I shouldn't have to defend my moral issues."
A class project in criminal justice turned sour for the college senior, who we'll call Ian.
The assignment was to wear a pink triangle around school for the day as a symbol of gay rights and then write about the experience. Ian confronted his teacher.
"I asked 'What if a student were to feel uncomfortable with this -- would there be an alternate assignment?'" he said. "She said no."
He, in turn, got an F and faced expulsion.
So why wasn't the student offered a backup assignment? Lakeland administrators said that it is part of classroom policy.
"I think if the situation were easy, it wouldn't have been part of the curriculum," said Barbara Grano of Lakeland.
Still, faculty members said that they didn't break the rules.
"Absolutely, this student had an option," she said.
When NewsChannel5 spoke with Ian later in the day, his teacher had given him an apology note that read, in part, that the requirement was waived.
Ian said that he doesn't think things would have been resolved had NewsChannel5 not gotten involved.
"I appreciate everything you've done," he said.
His mother was happy, too.
"I was thrilled," she said. "Here's a young man who stood up for himself, and it worked."
Professors at Lakeland said that there's a list of things you can and can't challenge in the school's handbook.
I just think respect and sensitivity should have thought of and allowed for students who might have objections to the activity.
No, it is not. You forgot the religion of Sodom and Gomorrah, didn't they use the pink triangle and a rainbow?
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