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March 04, 2005
Take action
Ahh, gender politics. My favorite kind.
First, the article: Lesbian's picture in tux banned from school yearbook
Second, before distracting you with anything else, a list of email addresses to contact to express your outrage and concern:
The Principal in question, Sam Ward:
sward@mail.clay.k12.fl.us
His fellow administrators:
ljohnson@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, dfinley@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, tpittman@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, fgeckert@mail.clay.k12.fl.us
The School Board administrators:
dowens@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, bwortham@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, wbrock@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, gcopeland@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, istrickland@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, melliott@mail.clay.k12.fl.us
The School Board members:
CVallencourt@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, CStuddard@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, CEVanZant@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, wbolla@mail.clay.k12.fl.us, LGraham@mail.clay.k12.fl.us
And finally, local media:
editor@flemingislandnews.com, baustin@jcpgroup.com, pat.yack@jacksonville.com
Please, write to them. Even if just a short note saying "I support Kelli Davis." It will take you all of 2 minutes at most.
Next, the letter I wrote. Yes, I sent it to all of those email addresses.
Subject: An open letter to Sam WardDear Mr. Ward,
The situation you've created around Kelli Davis outrages me. It is obvious that you are completely out of touch with today's reality, and that this disconnection makes you a danger to the development and growth of children and young adults.
I support you in your immediate resignation as Principal of Fleming Island High School.
As well, I encourage Superintendent David Owens either to take positive action in this situation or to resign as well.
The nation's children deserve better.
Sincerely,
Josh Alexander
Here is the reply I received:
Dear Joshua:Recently, the Folio opinion magazine ran a story criticizing Fleming
Island High School and my decision to enforce a strict dress code policy
for the yearbook's senior pictures. Although the cause of the article
is the yearbook dress code, the Folio chose this opportunity to launch
several baseless accusations against our fine school.I appreciate you taking the time to hear our side of the story.
As a high school principal, I am required to make tough decisions about
how to enforce our school policies. Many times, I have to weigh the
needs of the student body as a whole against the desires of a particular
student. Of course, I understand when a family becomes upset over a
decision I have made. I assure you that I would not ban a student photo
from the yearbook without serious deliberation.The Folio asserts that I persecute some students based on their
appearance and their sexual orientation. I categorically deny that
charge. I value every student here at Fleming Island, even when I do
not quite understand their choices. Neither I nor my staff
discriminates for or against students based on their race, their income,
their family connections or their sexual orientation.However, regardless of how the Folio chose to distort this issue, I have
made an unpopular decision to some to ban student pictures that do not
meet the strict requirements of uniformity. There are only two times
per year that I insist on traditional dress from the students:
graduation and senior photo. My belief is that this milestone deserves
the utmost solemnity and respect.Of course it is important for students to express their individuality,
especially as they transition into full adulthood. However, the
yearbook provides ample opportunities for casual photos in its pages.
Requiring one formal photograph does not stifle the spirit of my
students.As a school administrator, I also have to think about how future
students will react to my decisions. Every action I take sets a
precedent. I have concerns that, should I allow a student to wear
alternative dress in her senior photo, the situation will escalate. Do
I allow a student to wear a tuxedo in her future college colors? Do I
allow another student to wear a cowboy hat and string tie, because he
sees himself as a cowboy? Do I allow a male class clown to wear a
dress?In short, I believe formality and uniformity in the senior photo
emphasize the dignity of our students and celebrate the importance of
their graduation. The students who have worked so hard to graduate
deserve no less.As to the other accusations leveled in the Folio, I simply ask that you
come to this school, walk our campus and talk with our students and
teachers. They will tell you that Fleming Island High School is simply
the best school in Clay County. Our school grade, last year, was a "B,"
missing an "A" by only ten points.Thank you for taking the time to hear our side of this story. Please
call me if you would like to discuss this matter further.Sincerely,
William S. (Sam) Ward
Principal
Finally, here is what I wrote back tonight.
Dear Sam:Thank you for your prompt response. I read the editorial piece as well as your form letter below, and find it important to let you know that none of the arguments made in your support address my concerns or outrage, both of which remain unmitigated.
I heard about your actions via USA Today, not the Folio. I am unconcerned with anything the Folio may have published. I am unconcerned with any accusations made against you or your school, baseless or otherwise.
I AM concerned about the actions you admit to taking, and the aftermath thereof as reported in USA Today. It is with the utmost respect for you as a fellow human being that I set forth in detailing the following for consideration by you, your colleagues, the Orange Park and Jacksonville communities, and the greater national and global communities watching this situation.
You imply that your decision was a result of weighing "the needs of the student body as a whole against the desires of a particular student", yet PlanetOut Network reports that more people turned out to the school board meeting to support Davis and condemn your decision than to support your decision.
You "categorically deny" that you "persecute students based on their... sexual orientation". You either don't understand what you are denying, don't understand what you've done, or both.
Please allow me to explain. You list unrelated examples such as "cowboy hats", when Davis did not violate the "requirements of uniformity"--she did not choose an option not available to other students. It is clear that the problem you had was not with the clothing in the photo--after all, every male student in the school was photographed in that same manner of dress. Your problem was with the gender of the person wearing it.
Davis did not fail to wear school appointed clothing; she did not fail to dress in clothing with the appropriate degree of formality. She did not, however, fit your arbitrary notions of what a female can and cannot wear.
Sounds pretty sexist so far. Exactly why can't a female wear a tuxedo? I'm not sure I understand how forcing males and females to wear *different* outfits creates "uniformity"... that would seem to be the opposite of uniformity.
Sounds pretty homophobic as well. We cannot separate gay rights from gender rights. Our very definitions of sexual orientation rely on our definitions of gender. Thus the ways in which we act our gender are integral to our sexual orientation. This is why so much anti-gay sentiment is concerned not with who people sleep with, but with the ways people transgress our notions of gender.
Clearly your notions of gender were transgressed, and you wrongfully used your authority and power to enforce your own personal views.
That your views may be shared by some, or even a majority, is irrelevant. Everyone has the right to their own gender identity and sexual orientation. When your enforce dichotomized gender roles, you not only undergird that which engenders homophobia, helping it to grow and flourish, but you also directly oppress all of your students, particularly gay and lesbian students, by dictating how they can and cannot act their genders--in this case, for an important event, a "milestone" you called it)--thus denying them freedom in a vital aspect of their identity and sexuality.
"Requiring one formal photograph" certainly "does not stifle the spirit of [the] students," but as I have shown, your requirement of Davis had nothing to do with formality and everything to do with her sex and gender. THAT is what stifles not just the spirits but the very cores of who your students are, versus what you were willing to allow them to be.
In your attempt to demand "the utmost... respect" for the graduation of these students, you have created the utmost disrespect for their persons. You have prioritized a rather crazed and extreme notion of "dignity" above the dignities of the students--at many levels, some previously mentioned, not the least of which includes trying to require Davis to be photographed in a costume she no doubt felt undignified in. It is not Davis who has disrespected and disgraced Fleming Island High School's first graduation--it is you.
I feel insulted that you've tried to justify your actions with a slippery slope argument. Surely it is obvious to you that you could have allowed Davis' photo and still easily dismiss the cases you use as examples without contradiction. You mention a tuxedo of a different color, a cowboy hat, and a male wearing a dress as a joke. All three are obviously different than Davis' case: the first two require special treatment, as opposed to Davis' choice from the general options available to the students. The third example speaks to intent; it would seem that Davis made her choice with the "utmost solemnity and respect" both for herself and the school, and not simply as a joke.
The sincerity and straightforwardness with which you express your stance only underlies my concern. I don't know if you honestly believe what you've written or if you were being intentionally obtuse. In either case, your actions in this situation remain unacceptable, and I call ever more strongly for your resignation--or termination. The students who have worked so hard to graduate deserve no less.
Sincerely,
Josh Alexander
Posted by Josh A. at March 4, 2005 11:10 PM