Gay student sues school after he's banned from wearing 'Jesus is not a homophobe'...

[æonpax]

A gay student whose southwest Ohio high school prohibited him from wearing a T-shirt designed to urge tolerance of gays is suing the school for violating his freedom of expression rights.

The mother of 16-year-old Maverick Couch filed the federal lawsuit on his behalf against Wayne Local School District and the principal of Waynesville High School, northeast of Cincinnati.

Couch is a junior at the public school. His lawsuit says he has been threatened with suspension if he wears a shirt bearing the message 'Jesus Is Not a Homophobe.' Source - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2124835/Gay-student-Maverick-Couch-sues-Cincinnati-school-Jesus-homophobe-T-shirt-banned.html

`
There are a few minor problems with this. While I support free speech and applaud this teenager for making a stand, there are too many unknowns here for me to just mindlessly get on the bandwagon of support.

There is not enough information on this incident and case. While we have the legal written allegations in the lawsuit the parents filed, we have nothing from the Wayne Local School District in regards to this. What is known is that student wore the t-shirt “to show support for the Day of Silence, a national event...” Key word here is “national” not a school sponsored event. I need to see both sides of an issue.

In our local area, both public and private schools have completely banned t-shirts with messages, which is included in the school’s Dress Code. This I consider to be a prudent course of action, considering what kind of litigious society the US has turned into. This also is the norm among most schools in the US.


My opinion; If the school had a written policy in regards to banning all t-shirts, uniformly applied to everyone, then the student was clearly in violation of the policy, regardless of a principal may or may not have said.

However, if the school had no written policy on t-shirts, leaving such enforcement as a dress code to be arbitrarily and capriciously applied by staff and teachers, then the student has a case.



Ah….I’m glad that in a few months, it’ll be 10 years since I graduated from high school. It was a pretty heady time in my life too, full of altruistic idealism's.

[Long Duck Dong]

I did a search and found the school dress code http://waynesville.k12.mo.us/schools/high_school/student_info_handbook/dress_code/



Any attire or tattoos depicting or suggesting (including any innuendo alluding to) vulgarity; profanity; sexual matters; gang association or advertisement; violence, tobacco, alcohol or drug use; or those which are ethnically derogatory are prohibited

The administration will determine whether clothing is inappropriate.



what I find interesting is that the school ( supposedly said ) that its
'too religious', 'sexual in nature' and inappropriate. and the student is saying that its not sexual in nature.... I wonder if that is cos he can not argue that its not religion or inappropiate ( by way of making a statement about religion that could piss people off and disrupt things ) but I am curious about the sexual in nature aspect lol
a possible outcome is that all logos, slogans etc end up getting banned at the school and that is just going to piss even more people off, cos there are possibly a good number of students that do not wear clothing that has the intention of causing issues and may well end up losing the right to express themselves within the rules.....

I do recall seeing the same issue mentioned in the forums in the past, with the same type of tshirt..... and I am wondering if its possibly the same guy again... I may be wrong.... but I definitely recall the same issue.....

either way, if I knew the tshirt caused issues, I would find another one to wear that showed my support for the national day of silence, without dragging religion or other contentious issues into it.... but yes it would be nice to hear both sides of the story and the full versions at that

[Gearbox]

Any slogan with the religiously flammable word "Jesus" on a T-shirt can be taken as inappropriate. But that one in particular implies that some think Jesus is homophobic. Yes they do, but no headmaster/mistress wants that roaming around their turf I expect. No more than T-shirts with "Headmasters are not paedophiles" on them.:rolleyes:

[The Bisexual Virgin]

I just really think this guy is looking for attention. That's just me personally.

[tenni]

If he is looking for attention and it is because of his sexuality, I am able to understand. At the same time, though, the school should have the right to restrict and enforce such dress codes. The one aspect that seems a bit unusual is gang association or advertisement. Are they referring to all advertisements such as drink coke or advertisements for a gang?

Regardless, I would support the school in these types of situations. I don't support religious homophobes but the school needs to provide a safe, calm environment for learning. I'd have no problem with him wearing a discreet button with the same message but suspect that the school would also ban that inside the building as well.

[darkeyes]

`

Ah….I’m glad that in a few months, it’ll be 10 years since I graduated from high school. It was a pretty heady time in my life too, full of altruistic idealism's.
I finished with High School only a few years before u, babes.. and my ideals remain untainted by time and funnily enough there are even more of them.. sure I know what can and can't be achieved here and now and they may remain untainted by reality, but reality and practicality have made me a lil more patient.. lots of my ideals will never be achieved in my lifetime and that is a bugger!! But we strive to play our part in achieving them and if this boy is doing his bit then I fully applaud him.. I know that at my school he would be stopped normally from wearing such a tshirt because of the uniform dress code, but there are days which are non uniform days over the year where such messages on tshirts are not prohibited.. and I have seen several kids wearing tshirts with supportive slogans about various aspects of sexual freedom, including homosexuality, whereas I have yet to see a pupil wear one showing intolerance in any way.. there has been the odd pupil stopped from wearing profanely and sexually explicit slogans or logos, but most are a bit wiser than the odd pupil..

Different schools allow different things and luckily mine is remarkably tolerant on such days.. nationally, other schools even within my own local authority area, including Catholic schools, I know would take a very different view..

[void()]

A decade ago? Wow. I feel ancient in admitting two decades out.

[darkeyes]

U feelin' a bit decayed, Voidie?? tee hee. Decadent is ok tho babes.. :tongue:

[jamieknyc]

Gang associations are actually the main reason for restrictions on clothing worn at schools. Most clothing-restriction codes are intended to prevent the wearing of 'gang colors' rather than messages.

From a purely legal point of view, since the dress code does not prohibit messages (political, religious or otherwise), the school probably can't stop him from wearing it. I imagine that the school will argue that the message violates the restriction on messages of a sexual nature, but that argument is going nowhere.

[bityme]

A decade ago? Wow. I feel ancient in admitting two decades out.

Ahhh! To Be Young Again! I remember two score and six years ago having to use poster paint to put messages on T shirts. It was before silk screening. LOL

Didn't think of it then, but a modification of Gearbox's idea would have been fun in the early 60s. "Principals are not all pedophiles!"

Pappy

[12voltman59]

It doesn't surprise me that the Waynesville school officials did this----Waynesville is not very far from me at all--less than ten miles---I live almost literally on the border of Montgomery and Warren and Greene counties where all three meet--Waynesville is in Warren County---it is a small "village" with both the village and its township are 100% "dry" as in that they do not allow even beer or wine to be sold in groceries or convenience stores and there are no bars either. Forget booze too--that is verboten--you can have it--you just cannot buy it in the village or surrounding township.

I am down in Waynesville pretty regularly.

Warren County for the most part is still pretty much rural with the parts of it closest to Dayton like just south of me and on towards Cincinnati being more developed with regular suburbia--but then there are many high-end subdivisions scattered about with high-end houses, many "horse estates" along with other farms large and small---with the big ones being big time ag operators and the smaller ones being family owned ones---with most looking pretty nice--but a fair number look like they are struggling and look like they were transplanted from places like down in West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee from the depression era.

While this is an area "north of the Mason-Dixon"---you might not think so in that I know of a few homesteads where the folks will fly Confederate "rebel" flags along with the US flag---one guy not too far out of Waynesville doesn't fly the American flag at all other than an upside down one, with his main flag being a really big Confederate one---he flies other versions of flags that came from the Confederacy as well and on top of one of his barns that faces the road---he has painted a big rebel flag and on his cars and trucks---has Confederate flag front "license plates" even though in Ohio you are supposed to display a front state plate and confederate flag stickers are on the back window, back gate and bumpers.

Over the years, he likes to post a series of ever changing handmade signs expressing his views on things and one of the tamer ones regarding the election of Barack Obama---"Anyone Stupid Enough to Vote in that Nig, doesn't deserve to be called an American and should be shot on the spot!"

The voters in the county tend to go solidly for conservative Republicans with candidates for local office prominently saying things like "Jim Smith---- All American, Conservative, Republican" In our primary back in early March--Warren County--along with most of the non-urban counties in Ohio--went pretty solidly for Rick Santorum--thankfully--the state's urban and suburban counties went very strongly for Mitt Romney and gave him the win.

I do regularly drive by the place that Democrats in the county have their offices, and I am tempted to stop to marvel at the fact that Democrats are allowed to remain living in the county---I am really surprised when I see signs in people's yards for either Democratic office seekers or for issues that are "liberal" like our recent fight to set back the state measure that tried to do away with unions for public employees---now we are going to have a voter initiative to make Ohio a "right-to-work" state--which I hope is knocked down too and it looks like in 2013 we will have a chance to overturn a change in our state constitution that enshrined prohibiting same sex marriages the law of the state. Sure gonna do what I can to make sure that one gets on the ballot and passes!!!

As Jaime said---if it can be proven that the decision to take action against this young man was not in keeping with an overall policy of prohibiting other sorts of similar "messages" on clothing, then what they did to this young man should not stand----I would bet ya dimes to donuts that if I were to walk into Waynesville High tomorrow and just observed the kids walking around---I would see plenty of them wearing T's, hoodies, etc that have slogans on them that are pro in nature for fundamentalist, evangelical or dominion Christian points of view--in fact---with the area being so conservative---I am 100% sure that if I could tour the entire school and see most if not all of the kids--I would find plenty of such "messages."

I do have to hand it to that young man and his family---that he is out and openly gay in Waynesville is a pretty gutsy thing to be--since I am sure it is not easy to be so in a place that is so strongly conservative and fundamental Christian as this part of Warren County is.

Not the house of that person I mentioned above--I thought I had some pics of it--but I don't seem to--kinda have to admit--I would be a bit uneasy about stopping to take any pics of their place---they are not exactly very friendly I don't think--this house is not actually in Waynesville--but a few miles away on the border of that township and the next one over--but there are many folks who fly the "rebel flag" in those parts. At least these people do have that American flag windsock!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/P1030666.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/P1030665.jpg

[Annika L]

The notion that the word "homophobe" makes a shirt sexual in nature is such a ridiculous stretch:

"Homophobe" refers to a person who fears/hates certain kinds of people, not to sex of any kind. The particular people feared/hated/not tolerated are distinctive in whom they are attracted to. And those people occasionally have sex. So does the homophobe in most cases.

So I suppose "Jesus was not a misogynist." would also be out on the grounds that women sometimes have sex. Cute.

If the school wants to ban clothes based on religious content, I think that's a fabulous idea...they should consider putting that in their policy. But they didn't. So ok, change the policy. But don't imply that just because I am not heterosexual, I am a reference to sex...or that because someone hates me, they are a reference to sex.

[jamieknyc]

I doubt that they could ban political or religious messages, under the First Amendment.

[Annika L]

Good point...then I see no leg for them to stand on...those uncomfortable teachers need to suck it up. Or better, engage the students in a dialog about the topic!

[wanderingrichard]

actually, after reading all this, i think the kids message went way over the mental capacities of the student body and the schools administration and board.

[æonpax]

I did a search and found the school dress code http://waynesville.k12.mo.us/schools/high_school/student_info_handbook/dress_code/
Any attire or tattoos depicting or suggesting (including any innuendo alluding to) vulgarity; profanity; sexual matters; gang association or advertisement; violence, tobacco, alcohol or drug use; or those which are ethnically derogatory are prohibitedThe administration will determine whether clothing is inappropriate

{snipped for brevity}

Good find. Coupled with the post and pictures about life in Waynesville, I'd be inclined to side with the student. Still, not enough info and a school still has a right to enforce a dress code. Maybe the teen is also seeking self-attention, then again, maybe not. At any rate, this issue isn't very compelling to me.

[Long Duck Dong]

Good find. Coupled with the post and pictures about life in Waynesville, I'd be inclined to side with the student. Still, not enough info and a school still has a right to enforce a dress code. Maybe the teen is also seeking self-attention, then again, maybe not. At any rate, this issue isn't very compelling to me.
[/LEFT]

I was thinking constance mcmillian part 2, the t-shirt strikes back, myself lol......

all we are missing is the activist friends in the background, ellen degeneres, head spot in the LGBT parade and a full on shit slinging match on facebook..... the much needed LGBT fight for rights accessories that every LGBT person needs...... and for $19.95, we will even include the other person that gets ignored in the fighting..... constance mcmillian had Juin Baize ( remember him? the transgender student at the same school that got ran out of town at the same time that the issue with constance was going on )

[void()]

actually, after reading all this, i think the kids message went way over the mental capacities of the student body and the schools administration and board.

We all know it is bad form to be smarter than the authorities, too. In this case it is teachers. Could be a supervisor, priest, doctor. Damn that human ego.

[jamieknyc]

If they decide to ban all messages on t-shirts regardless of content, they would probably be within their rights to do so.

[Long Duck Dong]

lol jame, and thats not the best way for the student to make more friends at the school

[pepperjack]

I like that the message says "Jesus is," not was. It implies he believes in the resurrected Christ, still alive, timely & apropos.

[12voltman59]

An update on the situation, from yesterday morning's local paper--I am just getting to it! The young man is going to be allowed to wear the shirt for this year's "Day of Silence" on April 20th. The case has been filed in US Federal District Court down in Cincinnati, but the school district is now reported as trying to find other ways to resolved the issue.

The reason they did threaten him with disciplinary action, which first was that he had to turn the shirt inside out on The Day of Silence, then a week later threatened to suspend him for wearing it again---the district said that the reason for such action was because: "It is the position of Wayne Local School District Board of Education that the message communicated by the student's T-shirt was sexual in nature and therefore indecent and inappropriate in a school setting," thus spoke school district attorney, William Deters in a letter dated Feb. 24.

[12voltman59]

I should say that Waynesville is not a bad place, really--just that people there are very conservative, very much "set in their ways" and such, people are friendly for the most part.

It is a very picturesque small settlement---it has lots of history going back to "the pioneer days"---not far out of town on the shores of a sizable lake created when the US Army Corps of Engineers damned a major creek for flood control----there is "The Pioneer Village" which is a collection of actual "pioneer" homes and buildings from around the area that were relocated there---or a few were built to recreate places that once existed, but are long gone--and on those grounds they hold all kinds of neat events like re-enactments of events that took place back in those days with people setting up primitive camp for the weekends they are held---and they will do things like have battle re-enactments of skirmishes between early white settlers, the local native people--and even French and British forces who had many battles in this part of what would become Ohio over control of this area--they also have one weekend that is a re-creation of some Civil War things that took place in the area.

During the days of slavery----the area had been settled by Quakers and since they tended to be abolitionists---many of them served as "conductors on the Underground Railroad," taking a big chance that if they got caught doing that---things would be very bad for them thanks to some of the laws of the day that prohibited people from helping slaves escape. There was a town that got buried when they made the lake and it was a big stop along the "underground railroad."

Not too far outside of Waynesville, there is one of the biggest renaissance festivals in the US that takes place for like 8 or 9 weeks each fall and Waynesville itself is a great destination if you like American antiques of various eras---there are like something like 30 or more antiques dealers along the main street that runs about a mile in length and along the immediate side streets. Its kind of like being in an episode of "American Pickers."

In the autumn, there is a huge fall festival "in town"---the Sauerkraut Festival that draws something like around a quarter million people who come to the fair over the course of a weekend beginning for some opening events on Friday night on thru Sunday afternoon. You never knew that it is possible to make so many things from sauerkraut!

The town had been a major waypoint along an old stagecoach line and that brought a man to town to set up business with the last name: STETSON---the hat maker who later became known for creating that famous Texas icon--the Stetson Cowboy Hat. He made a small fortune here then, later, moved on west where he really made it big.

The town is also said to be "Ohio's Most Haunted Town" and I don't know if he still does it or not--but one guy would dress up in Pioneer era clothing and take people on a walking tour to those supposedly haunted places, going in most of them if the owners allowed it.

I just figured I would give everyone a different side of this place, since up above, I kind of painted it as a den of white racists and homophobes---the area is like most other places--you have your share of those sorts but plenty of good hearted, kind and tolerant people.

Some pics from the area and town-the first is of the lake--the others were taken in the village not long before Christmas a few years back.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/P1040381-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/DSC_0026-1.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/DSC_0017-2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/DSC_0015-2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/DSC_0012-1.jpg

[wanderingrichard]

We all know it is bad form to be smarter than the authorities, too. In this case it is teachers. Could be a supervisor, priest, doctor. Damn that human ego.

LMAO, Void, all i could see was Bender from Futurama saying the same thing....:bigrin:

[wanderingrichard]

I like that the message says "Jesus is," not was. It implies he believes in the resurrected Christ, still alive, timely & apropos.

True, but i see an underlying message too. One that criticizes hypocracy and intolerance, which may not have set well in rural Waynesville.