She was a model student and a star athlete – an honest young woman in her final year at a private Christian high school, The Master’s School, in Connecticut.
But when school administrators asked her about her sexual orientation, she answered courageously and honestly that she is a lesbian.
And then those same administrators told her to withdraw or she would be kicked out.
When I read this, I wondered to myself, “Why are school administrators asking about their students’ sexual orientation in the first place?” When you think about it, that sort of question is not only unnecessary, but also unimportant. They should be worrying more about the well-being of the students at the school, not about their sexual orientation. If a school administrator asked me that question, honestly, I would have refused to answer. I would be like, “I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
I’m reading an article on the whole fiasco as I’m writing this. The school’s motto is “Veritas Vos Liberabit”, which translates to “The truth will set you free.” Well, while I would have done something else if I were in her shoes, she was being honest about her sexual orientation (which is always a good thing), but apparently it was a bitter pill for the school administrators to swallow. In the end she chose to withdraw (I probably would have, too) because she didn’t want the school to look bad, but this was a wise choice on her part because who would want to go to a school where you may face emotional abuse just because of your sexual orientation? No one, obviously.
My overall take on this? I think she acted honourably and gracefully. As for the school, they just lost an amazing student and student athlete just because of bigotry, and I am sure that this will bite them back in the butt. Actions do have consequences. And in a place like that, I doubt I would bother to be honest with those administrators anyway.
Sexual orientation does NOT define a person’s personality; well, it may, sometimes, but not most of the time. If I came across this girl and wasn’t told about her sexual orientation, most likely I would have liked and respected her as a person, and even if someone mentioned it I still would have liked and respected her. It doesn’t matter.
Apparently she was questioned because an incident where she went on a class trip with several other students and they pretended to be married and pretty much held hands. But holding hands isn’t unusual for same-sex friends at the school, and it seemed pretty harmless.
A few links to the story are below, if you want to read up on it:
http://www.ctnow.com/news/hc-campbell-rachel-0907-20110907,0,2185421.column
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/connecticut-christian-school-kicks-12th-grader-out-for-being-a-lesbian/discrimination/2011/09/08/26618
Design by Simon Fletcher. Powered by Tumblr.
© Copyright 2010
