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An appeals panel found on Wednesday that a Lutheran school in Riverside, CA was within its legal right when it expelled two 16-year-old for allegedly being lesbians.  According to the LA Times, the school stated that the girls had "'a bond of intimacy' that was 'characteristic of a lesbian relationship.'"


Both girls claimed that although they had told students they were lesbians, they were not romantically involved with each other.  The students were then questioned by their male principal in a manner that they felt was inappropriately intimate, according to their testimonies.  Finally, the school notified their parents of their supposed "alternative" sexual orientation, and the girls were removed from the school, "humiliated."


So what do you think?  Does a Christian school have the right to expel students for being homosexual even if the students do not identify themselves as gay?  Should they be allowed, then, to expel students for race?  Political beliefs?  Where should the line be drawn?




Showing the Latest of 7 Comments

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2 yearss ago
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childandcrazy
3 yearss ago
OMG. What alternative parallel universe is this school in? I would hate to think that my children would be bullied into leaving because its alleged that they were lesbians. The girls were comfortable with it, the other kids didn't seem bothered by it and last time I heard, it wasn't a crime to be a lesbian. It sounds like the girls handled it much better than the "educators" involved. Some education! I know if I was paying all those exorbitant private school fees I'd be pretty pissed if they were removed for being gay. School is tough enough for kids without banging on about their sexual orientation. It's hard enough to fit in on a day to day basis without being discriminated against because you are a self admitted lesbian. They're not ashamed? Why should you be? Do they have the same guidelines, say, if it came to someone they "thought" may have had the proclivity to take out the whole student body with an Uzi? "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to tell your parents that you're a psychopathic murderer just waiting to happen so you're going to have to leave the school?" Seems like they're quite quick to deal with something nonthreatening (to them because I'm sure the principal isn't the girls type) when if the other psycho issue came up, there would be much more discussion & care behind it & how to deal with it. Oh, not to mention counselling involved for the person with the gun. No offers of counselling for these girls, nuh uh! They are beyond redemption it seems. Anyway, Who T F Cares? You can't help who you love. Let them go to school & leave them alone. And stop using "christian values" as an excuse to ridicule & shame people. It's so hypocritcal I could hurl.
 
enyo
3 yearss ago
It's a private school. They have the right to determine if a student meets their guidelines. That being said, I'd never send my kid to a school with those guidelines. But, then again, last year's class couple at my old high school were a lesbian couple. And I thought it was awesome.
 
badmummy
3 yearss ago
"I think it's a shame that a Christian school can get away with doing this. I don't think that it being a private school has anything to do with it either. If they decided to expel a black student there would be an utter uproar and people would feel strongly against them. I do not see this as being any different." It absolutely does. There are laws against expelling black students, but there are non protect homosexual students. You and I may not see it any differently, because ultimately it's not, but the law does and in the end that's what counts.
 
fine social scene
3 yearss ago
A good Christian school would teach tolerance, but this one obviously just teaches conformity and that it's okay to not have to share the same air with people who might be in some way not what Christian teaching suggests. Sexuality is not something that can be decided by other people other than the person themselves so the suggestion that a school can expel a student "even if the students do not identify themselves as gay" seems utterly preposterous and also quite possibly bullying. I think it's a shame that a Christian school can get away with doing this. I don't think that it being a private school has anything to do with it either. If they decided to expel a black student there would be an utter uproar and people would feel strongly against them. I do not see this as being any different. It is also widely believed that you "hate the sin not the sinner" which would be a much kinder approach then putting these young women through this. Also you cannot "look gay" or "act gay" if you are not in fact gay...and if you think that you can look or act like a sexual orientation does then you would be another person stereotyping those people. All that aside I think that if the pupils themselves do not think of themselves as lesbians then that should be enough. I think this is especially important as these girls are still young and although (if they do actually have these feelings) they are valid it is important to recognise that these can change (or stay the same shock horror) and that either way they will be loved and accepted for who they are. One of the main failings of religion is that it is highly judgemental, which is one of the reasons I am an atheist.
 
badmummy
3 yearss ago
As much as I hate it and find it repugnant, I have to say that, yes, a private school is within it's rights to expel students who don't fit their criteria for attendees. That said, I think it's wildly inappropriate for an opposite gendered teacher to question students on any sexually based topic without the presents of their parents or at least an advocate. They may be 16, but they are still children being put in a position where they need to defend themselves to an older authority figure who, clearly, has strong opposing views to them. To coin a phrase, I'm disappointed that in 2009 this issue is still raging.