School documentary debated


Tuesday, March 24, 1998	School documentary debated By KHYBER OSER Collegian Staff Writer
`State College Area High School World Wide Web Site`	Spectators at the State College Area High School Board meeting last night filled every seat in the board room and lined the walls. Even more spectators watched the meeting on TV outside the room, the crowd stretching its way up a stairwell at the far end of the wide hallway.
State College residents gather in the hallway of the State College Area School District Administrative Offices Building, 131 W. Nittany Ave. Members of the crowd heard and expressed their views yesterday about a documentary promoting tolerance for homosexuality shown during a faculty in-service day in January.(Collegian Photo/Zubin Patrawala - click for full size image)	During the open-discussion portion of the meeting, which lasted more than an hour and a half, a continuous flow of State College residents, State College Area High School students and University students gave their input on whether homosexuality should be discussed in schools. "The people care very deeply about these issues that involve their children," said Dorcas Helton, a Stormstown resident. "I'm very concerned that (homosexuality) is being pushed as a diversity issue." The spark for this debate dates back to Jan. 21, when State College Area High School held a voluntary faculty in-service day devoted to diversity, said State College Elementary School teacher Roy Schaeffer. Half of the day consisted of about 30 educational sessions, two of which focused on sexual orientation issues, Schaeffer said. At one of the sessions, Schaeffer said, a documentary film was shown about how nondiscrimination, including that involving sexual orientation, can be promoted in the classroom. Titled It's Elementary, the film showed how to address homosexuality without incorporating explicit sexual information or advocating a specific "lifestyle," Schaeffer said. Many audience members in attendance last night at the State College Area School District Administrative Offices Building, 131 W. Nittany Ave., disagreed with the movie's purpose. Alex Cadman, president of Students Reinforcing Adherence in General Heterosexual Tradition, was present at the meeting and said Sunday night he was concerned about the movie's message.
*"This video advertises homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle. That's a problem because kids will get the impression that homosexuality is OK."* - Alex Cadman, president of Students Reinforcing Adherence in General Heterosexual Tradition	"This video advertises homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle," Cadman said. "That's a problem because kids will get the impression that homosexuality is OK." Other audience members said it is not the school district's responsibility to teach moral issues, because that is the job of parents and the religious community. Beverly Reagan, a State College resident, said homosexuality is deviant behavior and added that homosexuality is not a civil rights issue, such as race, because she believes it is a choice. "God does not create homosexuals," she said. "People are not born homosexuals." After more than 20 people spoke, most of whom opposed the sessions on homosexuality at the in-service day, Duane Gildea, political co-director of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance, addressed the board with a shaky voice. "If I had children, I would not bring them to this school district because of what I heard tonight," Gildea said. "I have never in my life been so incredibly stunned. My whole life has changed as a result of attending this meeting."