Protesters Call on Flour Bluff High School to Recognize Gay-Straight Alliance

by Michael Jones · 2011-03-04 08:29:00 UTC
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Students, community members and activists are rallying outside of Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, today, calling on school administrators to recognize a proposed gay-straight alliance.

Earlier this week, Flour Bluff Superintendent Julia Carbajal made national news when she decided to block the gay-straight alliance from forming. Superintendent Carbajal even went so far as to nix all extra-curricular activities at Flour Bluff, in order to block the gay-straight alliance. It was a rather shocking move that galvanized the community, has grabbed the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and has mobilized over 45,000 people online (and counting) calling on Superintendent Carbajal to reverse her decision and recognize the gay-straight alliance.

One of the key students behind the proposed gay-straight alliance is 17-year-old Bianca "Nikki" Peet, who has been working with local activists and members of the gay-straight alliance at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to challenge Superintendent Carbajal's decision. Paul Rodriguez, an organizer with the Texas A&M group, said that school administrators ought to prioritize safety and inclusion for all students at Flour Bluff. Until they do, activists will be holding these school officials accountable.

"We're here to defend the rights of all students at Flour Bluff High School," Rodriguez said via phone, amidst cheers from dozens of fellow demonstrators. Rodriguez added that demonstrators also dropped off over 3,000 pages of petition signatures, from the more than 45,000 people (and counting) who have signed Change.org's petition in support of Nikki Peet and the Flour Bluff gay-straight alliance.

In addition to broad national support, alums from the Flour Bluff school system have also sent in supportive statements and letters, calling on the district to be more proactive in keeping students of all sexual orientations and gender identities safe. Joseph Pierce, a 2001 graduate, said that administrators at Flour Bluff have seriously erred in their decision to ban the proposed gay-straight alliance, and the end result of that decision could have dangerous consequences if not reversed.

"The logic used to justify this decision blatantly reinforces the homophobic culture that has paralyzed young students at Flour Bluff High School for decades," Pierce wrote in his letter to school district officials. "Your recent actions show that current Flour Bluff High School students need an organization of this nature on campus."

Stay tuned for more information as this story develops. And please, add your name to the campaign to support Flour Bluff's proposed gay-straight alliance. At 45,000 signatures and counting, it's clear that the issue of safe schools extends far beyond Corpus Christi, and has really touched a national nerve.

Photo credit: brainchildvn

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

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