South Carolina School Board Drastically Tries To Eliminate Gay Straight Alliance

After some complaints about the Gay Straight Alliance at a South Carolina high school, the school district tried to ban all non-academic clubs. Luckily, they failed.

According to the Post and Courier, students at Summerville High School complained after the Gay Straight Alliance put up a poster and ran a commercial on the school’s TV channel. Their complaint led the school board of South Carolina’s Dorchester District 2 to consider banning all non-academic clubs. Said board member Charles Stoudemire, who brought the motion, “Clubs should have a curricular orientation. They are not about pursuing personal identity.” And board member Barbara Crosby said non-academic clubs “distract” students from their studies.

The motion failed, but not necessarily because the school board supports gay rights. Rather, the ban on non-academic clubs would have been so sweeping that it could have taken out the Student Council and National Honor Society (not to mention the all-important Zombie Appreciation Club). And the board may revisit the issue again later on, especially if it experiences further budget cuts. Still, it’s encouraging that an effort to keep schools from supporting gay students has, for the time being, failed.

Schools’ Gay Straight Alliance Survives Board Look At Non-Academic Clubs [Post and Courier]
Gay Straight Alliance Prompts Debate [Summerville Journal Scene]
Dorchester School District 2 Fails To Eliminate Non-Academic Clubs [The Digitel Charleston]
Club Comes Under Fire At Area High School [CountOnNews2]