Thursday, August 4, 2011

West Bend Gay-Straight Alliance wins Federal Court Battle for Recognition.

Great news from from West Bend, and a victory for gay rights in their district high schools. I’m posting this energizing student protest video, I never had a chance to use, to show how incredible it was to see this kind of on campus activism. They made it happen…along with a bunch of lawyers:

jsonline: A federal judge decided that the West Bend School Board must recognize the Gay-Straight Alliance as an official school-sponsored club at the district’s high schools.

The decree also prohibits any current or future board members from retaliating against the club or anyone affiliated with it while under the court’s supervision for the next seven years. If the school board violates the terms of the agreement while under court supervision, the GSA can ask the same federal judge to enforce its ruling without having to file litigation again.

Waring Fincke, a lawyer for the club, said “The judge’s order is as clear as a bunch of lawyers can make it.”

The dispute began when the school board denied the student group official status — even though the club had been meeting unofficially for years —  at its May 9 meeting. Official recognition allows a club to be in the yearbook, raise money on campus, post information in the schools and use the schools’ equipment and resources. 


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