Editorial

Middle school students prove maturity in censorship battle

The Sherwood Gazette, Mar 3, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (4 Reader comments)

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2

The effects of this “bullying” are devastating.

Less than two weeks before Pittioni decided her students were not mature enough to confront the realities of bullying, Lawrence King, a 15-year-old from Oxnard, Calif., was shot in the head inside his classroom. Other students reported that King’s death stemmed from an altercation over his sexual orientation and his gender-bending clothing. King died two days after the shooting, on Valentine’s Day.

And don’t think this problem is confined to “the big cities,” either. In a 2000 Report Card on America’s Schools, 39 percent of middle school students said they don’t feel safe at school.

Does Pittioni really think her students are any different?

The Sherwood Middle School drama students who spoke to The Gazette said Brown’s play is pretty realistic, that these terms are nothing shocking. In other words, “Higher Ground” wasn’t going to be the first time that Pittioni’s students heard a fat girl being called a “cow,” or a strict teacher being called “a Nazi.” So what was the problem?

Many parents and students have claimed that the real issue was that one of the play’s main character’s sexual identify is in question. Pittioni denies that the script’s reference to homosexuality was the main issue behind her decision to cancel the play.

We have trouble believing that this had nothing to do with the “maybe gay” character – especially in a town like Sherwood, which skews Republican and Christian, two groups that aren’t exactly quiet about their dislike of the “homosexual agenda.” But unless Pittioni opens up about exactly what those parents’ complaints were, we’ll never know the true impetus for the play’s censorship.

Sherwood Superintendent Dan Jamison supported Pittioni’s decision, and said the play’s topic – confronting the issue of bullying in schools – was “appropriate,” but that the play’s content, which includes references to homophobia, physical, verbal and sexual harassment, incest, domestic violence, victimization of obese students and racial slurs (in other words, all the things that bullies use as their weapons) was not.

Frankly, we fail to see how students could put on a play about bullying and not refer to the actual bullying that occurs daily in our schools.

There is a bright spot in this saga, however.

Dozens of parents and community members have stepped up to keep “Higher Ground” alive and to fight against censorship. In fact, at least five organizations have offered their facilities to the Sherwood students. We congratulate all of these supporters and hope that, when the students finally do find another venue for “Higher Ground,” Sherwood turns out en masse to rally for this city’s mature and courageous youth.

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit