Comments On Gays Broadcast At School Raise Furor

MIAMI, FLORIDA - A teacher who condemned homosexuality as part of a broadcast at Miami Sunset Senior High has come under fire, as have administrators who failed to screen the program.
On the first day, a few students talked about supporting gay rights, and no one paid much attention.
On the second day, a school counselor talked about respecting each other, and no one paid much attention.
On the third day, a few students spoke against homosexuality and a teacher said it is ''wrong according to the Bible'' -- and people noticed very much.
That final segment of a Miami Sunset Senior High television project roiled the normally placid West Dade campus, drew sharp response from both students and teachers and has raised questions about the free exchange of ideas and religion in public schools.
"It was one of those things you hear and say, 'What are you doing putting that on school airwaves?' '' said senior Christina Garcia de los Rios, 18, who is gay. "Those who are gay were very offended, saying it was an attack on their entire life.''
The segments began airing Feb. 28 following the normal morning announcements, which are broadcast throughout the school. Each features a minute or two of kid-in-the-hall interviews, compiled as a project by the televisionproduction class.
''I think homosexuality is a normal part of everyday life,'' one unidentified student said in the first segment, a comment largely echoed by others.
The final portion, aired last Friday, includes anti-gay statements from four students and business technology teacher Donna Reddick.
The students' statements were considered provocative at a school widely described as comfortable for its many openly gay students. One called homosexuality "unacceptable in the eyesight of God.''
Another read a Bible passage from 1 Corinthians, which -- according to some translations -- condemns homosexuals as ''unrighteous'' and says they will not "inherit the Kingdom of God.''
Reddick said God ordered humanity to multiply, which she said is impossible for gay couples.
''God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sexual sins, which included homosexuality,'' she said on the tape, a copy of which was obtained by The Miami Herald.
Reddick, 53, has worked for the district since 1973. Through principal Lucia Cox, she declined to comment.
POLICIES REVIEWED
District officials are reviewing numerous School Board policies on religious expression and free speech, but have not determined whether any rules were violated, according to spokesman Joseph Garcia.
The original assignment called for students to record interviews but did not specify the subject, which Cox said the students selected.
Cox said Reddick may have believed the video was only for an in-class project rather than a school-wide broadcast that reaches about 3,200 students and more than 200 staff.
She also said the students told Reddick the project was about ''the non-Christian view of homosexuality versus the Christian view of homosexuality,'' but that was never explained on the tape.
Moreover, Reddick's statement suggests she was giving her personal opinion, not an academic explanation: ''My perspective on homosexuality is that it is wrong according to the Bible,'' she said on the tape.
Cox suggested Reddick's statements, as well as the students', might have violated School Board policy in two ways. ''We separate church and state,'' she said. "We don't discriminate against sexual preference.''
Cox has ''administratively discussed'' the statement with Reddick, but would not say whether other action has been or will be taken.
Civil liberties groups said teachers and administrators need to closely supervise such sensitive projects, developing clear rules about the students' freedoms and limits. Such rules already allow administrators to censor student newspapers, and Cox said all future school broadcasts will be screened.
''Clearly there was a failure to appropriately and completely supervise this assignment, and the consequence is the potential for gay students to feel perhaps threatened and/or that the broadcast has encouraged a hostile school environment,'' said Art Teitelbaum, southern area director for the Anti-Defamation League.
He said Reddick ''failed to consider the impact of her comments,'' but the president of a religious-freedom group said schools should not attempt to punish people for expressing their beliefs.
''If you have a forum like this, that students are using to express themselves, this is the price of free speech,'' said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel for the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel. "To censor or discriminate against this teacher because her viewpoint is objectionable to some is, in my view, unconstitutional.''
He said a gay student's discomfort with Reddick's remarks should be seen in the same light as a religious student's discomfort with statements supporting gay rights.
The controversy has buzzed through Sunset for days, engaging both students and teachers.
''Kids come to school to feel safe and secure and happy, not to be told they're not going to heaven,'' said Irv Madnikoff, who teaches Advanced Placement government and history.
STUDENTS UPSET
He said some students have been "visibly upset.''
Cox said it is distracting students from preparing for next week's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Because of the test, she has refused to broadcast a rebuttal video filmed by a small group of students and teachers, including Madnikoff.
''We're trying to focus on FCAT and not stir up anything else,'' Cox said this week. "It's pretty sensational right now as it is.''
from The Miami Herald