Even as Provo High School’s Gay-straight club meets for the first time, there is already talk of it being short-lived because of some impending obstacles and resistance.
Provo is the city at the hear of the nation’s reddest county in the U.S. – Utah County. The same county in which every attempt was made by conservatives to keep Michael Moore from giving a talk last year at Utah Valley State College (including threats to withdraw funding from donors to the college).
The principal of Provo High School would not permit a Deseret News reporter to attend the meeting and turned away that reporter when they showed up to cover the meeting of the club.
The students had told the Deseret Morning News it could attend the first meeting; however, when a reporter arrived, the principal demanded she leave or he would have office staff escort her out. He cited a new district policy relating to the media and students.
Although the club has the right to exist, there is talk of the Provo school board voting in November to ban all clubs just so this one cannot exist. There is also talk that this move is being influenced by politically active conservative groups.
This will be interesting to follow. Salt Lake County High Schools faced the same issue when the first gay-straight alliance club was formed at East High School in Salt Lake City. If memory serves me correctly, the ACLU became involved and the outcome was that this club had every right to exist as other clubs. High schools around that county now have gay-straight alliance clubs.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 