Neuqua Valley High School administrators don’t have the right to keep students silent on the issue of homosexuality, though some 200 students are expected to do just that in April.
The students will participate in the annual “Day of Silence” to support gay rights and will show their solidarity by taking a daylong vow of silence, a faculty sponsor said.
The event, tentatively scheduled for April 15 at the Naperville school, follows a federal appeals court ruling Tuesday that two students at the school had the right during a similar event in 2006 to wear t-shirts with the message, “Be Happy, Not Gay.”
At the time, school officials had them edit the message to read, “Be Happy.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th District said that violated their First Amendment rights.
Indian Prairie School District 204 Superintendent Kathy Birkett said the district was disappointed in the ruling, which the district had previous appealed. District 204 school board members will have to decide whether to appeal to a higher court or let this week’s decision stand.
“School administrators work diligently to make sure the school environment feels safe so all students can focus on learning,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “As educators, we believe derogatory speech is a distraction that can prevent students from achieving their best.”
The suit was brought by the Alliance Defense Fund, which litigates on behalf of Christian causes. Nate Kellum, senior counsel with the group, said the court made the right decision.
“It sets a precedent that students, Christians or otherwise, who have speech that may not be the politically correct speech, may not be the most popular speech, (can) feel free to express their views just like anyone else,” he said.
Ed Yohnka, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, agreed with the ruling as well, but said a balance must be kept between protecting students from harassment and upholding free speech.
“These are very complicated cases,” he said. “A student’s speech ought to be unprotected or ought to be limited only when it would significantly hinder a reasonable student from obtaining an education, or significantly harm a reasonable student’s physical, mental or emotional well-being.”
Shannon Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Safe School Alliance, said she sees the ruling as narrow.
“It is based on the same principal that allows students to wear ‘Day of Silence’ t-shirts in school,” she said. “We would certainly not limit the students’ rights to wear those.”
But Sullivan, whose organization leads the “Day of Silence” effort in Illinois, called such opposing slogans on t-shirts intolerant.
“It tells people not to be gay, and people are gay,” she said. “I do think a consequence of wearing a shirt like that is hurting other people’s feelings.”
