Everyone Deserves Equality, Fairness and Respect

Another in the Voices of Venango County series, this from David Martin of Oil City as excerpted from The Derrick 8/4/06:


According to several articles in The Derrick, the Franklin Area School Board has received reports of discriminatory practices and of bullying of some students based on race and sexual orientation.

At the last school board meeting, a young black student recounted the pain and hurt she experienced resulting from racially motivated bullying, and several months ago a young man, perceived to be gay, was withdrawn from the school due to persistent bullying. Reportedly, the administration and staff failed to adequately intervene in both instances.

Both of these cases are disturbing because they strike at the very heart of our American value system. As a people, we believe in the equality of all citizens and that each person, including students, should be treated fairly and with respect.

A core value of Americans is the belief that all children in our communities should feel welcome and safe in our public schools and no child should fear being bullied or discriminated against for any reason as he or she enters the school building in the morning.

Just as disturbing as the reports of bullying and discrimination in our public schools are the comments of some individuals attending the last school board meeting.

Diane Gramley and the American "Family" Association would have us believe that it's unacceptable and wrong to discriminate on the basis of race but quite acceptable to discriminate on the bases if real or perceived sexual orientation.


Even worse, Ms. Gramley and her AFA followers use "biblical teachings" and phony evidence to support their position. They should recall that not so many years ago, similar "biblical teachings" and similar phony evidence were used to justify slavery and segregation, to outlaw inter-racial marriage and to encourage other discriminatory practices against targeted religious and ethnic minorities.

This divisive attempt by Ms. Gramley and the AFA to foster hate in our schools is not only un-American, but for many of us, it's un-Christ-like as well.

As the Franklin School Board struggles to develop and implement a truly inclusive non-discrimination policy and to curtail bullying in the schools, we trust that they will be guided by the constitutional mandate that "all men are created equal" and that ll citizens, including all students, deserve equality, fairness and respect.