Something important has just come to our attention.  Listen to what Elyse Cottrell of Ottowa, Canada, has to say after signing the CHS Petition:

"Apparently the administrators don't know or don't remember Eric Mohat, Meredith Rezak, Nicholas Kelo Jr... these are just some of the names of teens in Ohio who were bullied for "being gay" and committed suicide. Austin Rodriguez of Ohio was also bullied for being gay and attempted to kill himself.

Obviously there is an issue in OHIO where LGBT teens need support, not discrimination and intolerance."


We, as human beings, cannot foretell what is to come in the near future.  However, Erick and I, as well as the people of Celina, OH, would hope not to see the death of an innocent person.  

Please CHS, don't let the situation come to this.
 

Pro-gay shirts controversial at Celina School

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By Eric Adams
A group of Celina City Schools students say its unfair that administrators will not allow them to wear T-shirts with pro-gay sentiments while others are allowed to wear political shirts and pro-life messages.

Students reached out to several media outlets after recent events and have been contacted by an equality activist.

Administrators first objected to students Bethany Holbrook, a freshman, and Taylor Walter, a junior, wearing T-shirts openly expressing their homosexuality during "twin day" last week.  The girls were forced to take off the shirts...


 
BY IDA LIESZKOVSZKY

Earlier this week, 20 students at Celina High School were told to remove T-shirts featuring a pro-gay design. The students say they were initially told they can’t wear the T-shirts because they contain a political message, though the school’s superintendent, Jesse Steiner, later said students were asked to remove their T-shirts because they were disruptive.

Celina HIgh School’s dress code policy does not ban political clothing, but it does ban anything that might “disrupt the education program.”

Now the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has sent the high school a letter urging administrators to reconsider their ban on the pro-gay clothing, calling it a suppression of free speech. It also says the excuse for telling the students to change their clothing was a “heckler’s veto.”...

 
Recently, Erick Warner started a petition on change.org.  This site allows users to create their own petitions in hopes of a change.  Hence the website name, change.org.  The Celina High School petition can be found here and if you support homosexuals or are against discrimination, we advise you to sign.  The goal is to obtain at least 100 signatures and as of 10/31/2012 10:00 p.m. there are 22 signatures.  After more people are aware of the situation, more citizens will sign and the number of signatures will skyrocket. 

However, even though there have been many Celina students signing, there have also been outside signers.  Jacob Walla, of Houston, TX states "The purpose of a school is to foster education and social development in a protected environment, free from judgment or prejudice. To deny these students their rights based on a *personal* prejudice is the height of arrogance and foolishness. It is unprofessional and disgraceful. The administration needs to be mature enough to set aside personal prejudices in favor of equality and professionalism." Walla makes an agreeable assessment of the situation and we thank him for his input.
 

Ohio High School Students Told To Remove Rainbow T-Shirts Supporting Gay Rights

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Just three days after Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan held an energetic rally in Celina, Ohio, the seat of one of the most firmly Republican counties in the state, the high school there is at the center of a debate over what constitutes "political" or "disruptive" clothing.

The debate at Celina High School started after two female high school students celebrated the high school's "Twin Day" last week by wearing shirts to school that read "Lesbian 1" and "Lesbian 2" on the back. They were promptly asked to remove the T-shirts, according to students there.

On Tuesday, some 20 students decided to show their support of the girls by wearing their own T-shirts to school. The shirts read: "I support..." with a photo of a rainbow. "Express yourself."...