Anti-Gay Diatribe Published In Wichita Kansas High School Newspaper Suggesting Same Sex Dating “A Social Disruption” Defended As Exercise In Free Speech

An update on previous post, the Wichita Eagle reporting that a letter published February 11th in an opinion column authored by a student reporter, Colin Johnson, in the editorial section of The Messenger, the student newspaper of East High School, which argued same sex relationships are “just not normal” and “should be frowned upon,” augmenting the thesis with Biblical verses calling homosexuality an “abomination” punishable by death, is being defended by district officials, the newspaper’s faculty advisor, and student editors, all of whom contend the column constitutes free speech, and is therefore protected under the First Amendment and by the Kansas Student Publications Act. The act specifically mentions that “material shall not be suppressed solely because it involves political or controversial subject matter.” The act also states that material not protected by the act includes anything "libellous, slanderous or obscene," material that encourages or promotes criminal activity, or material that creates "substantial disruption of the normal school activity." James Pryor, president of the Wichita chapter of the Center for Human Rights, says that "This is not free speech but hate speech. They (administrators) have the responsibility to make sure our kids are safe. By allowing this hate speech to happen, it's just legitimizing bullying and hate, and it's irresponsible." Pryor added that the East High student "has every right to say what he wants to say, but to publish it is different. To basically say people should be killed — that incites danger," he said. "We believe the district dropped the ball on this one." In an e-mail, Sharon Martin, who teaches journalism at East High and acts as the faculty adviser for the student newspaper, defended the column’s publication, saying she read the column and determined that it met the criteria for protected speech, saying in part "I did not have the right to withhold publication." The district released a statement supporting the decision to publish the anti-gay diatribe, saying in part “As with opinions expressed in community media outlets such as the Wichita Eagle and local television stations, the views of one person do not necessarily represent the school or district opinion or position on an issue,” and that “The opinion of one student writer does not change the Wichita Public Schools’ commitment to providing a safe and nurturing environment for all students.” An online petition calling for East High to "take steps to address the damage that this article may have caused" had garnered more than 1,140 signatures by Tuesday, the petition suggesting that the newspaper run an article about the importance of safe schools and why it's "absolutely necessary" to talk about same-sex issues in the classroom. It also calls for officials to "send a school-wide message" against harassment of gay or lesbian students.The original editorial, which concludes that the acceptance of homosexuality in high school serves as “a social disruption,” is available here.