Those who are pondering Question 1 would do well to consider the effects of the Westbrook gay rights ordinance passed a few years ago. Since that ordinance took effect, there has been no great surge in reported incidents of discrimination.
There has, however, been a significant increase in gay activism within our school system. Since adopting the ordinance, teachers at Westbrook High School have become timid about enforcing limits on public displays affection among students when homosexual actions are involved. I’ve heard from one teacher who said she felt intimitated now about stopping public displays of affection between homosexuals because she was afraid it would be discriminatory.
During debate on the sex education curriculum this past spring, student representatives confirmed the high level of public homosexual activity and described how shocked they were when first entering the high school. Unfortunately, rather than simply asking for enforcement of existing rules, the committee voted to increase the discussion of homosexuality at the junior high level. This to help students “get used to the idea” and be “less shocked” by what goes on at the high school.
This fall Wescott Junior High School again hosted the Young Adult Abuse Prevention Program (YAAPP) workshops for all students. A quick check of the YAAPP website reveals a bias towards homosexuality and a commitment to the elimination of “heterosexism.” One child who attended the sessions described an exercise where groups of students who “are gay, or know someone who is” are invited to step over a line, which is the cue for everyone else to applaud. Is this affirmation for homosexual activity, or a rehearsal for “coming out” later in life?
New to WJHS this year is a so called “Civil Rights Team.” These teams were the brainchild of longtime homosexual rights activist Steve Wessler. School teams are invited to an annual convention in Augusta where they learn about all kinds of rights, including the importance of affirming (you guessed it) homosexuality.
Most recently, parents of WJHS students received a permission slip soliciting participation in a survey for a pilot program on attitudes towards political activism. A visit to the survey web site reveals the collection of personally identifying information for each student (initials, birth date, and eye color), then tracks these students for
a year.
This survey and all data will be held by the CYC at Brandeis University. A Google check reveals that the director of the CYC is Susan P. Curnan, a noted activist whose work includes helping students overcome “homophobia.” A founder of the CYC is Andrew B. Hahn, an academic interested in how “institutions of higher education contribute to progressive social change.”
It seems to me that the Westbrook Gay Rights ordinance has had a
significant effect. It has opened our schools to homosexual political
activism, with a detrimental impact to the time spent on actual
learning. Attempting to reverse this trend is one of the reasons that I will be voting YES on 1 this fall. I would love to hear from other parents who share my concerns about curriculum and sexual activism at Wescott Junior High School.
George Rodrigues
Member of Westbrook’s Human Sexuality Work Group
Send questions/comments to the editors.
