The following
are emails from Joe Quigley
(Posted 3-7-02)
3-5-02: I had two
messages in my mailbox today from the principal of
NWClassen when I got to school.
First he has put in an
"emergency" work order that puts the
bulletin board as a priority, and moves it ahead of
other things.
Second, he has asked the moderator
of the student council to have those kids come up
with the guidelines. She is a good and honest person,
and will do the right thing. I do not see this as a
stealth approach to exclude.
I made a few suggestions to her.
Among them:
1) any activity must be inclusive of all students
2) groups wishing to post must be from OKC
3) Groups must be in agreement with school policy and
other statements, among these promoting the dignity
and selfworth of all human beings (eliminates hate
groups)
4) any posted notice must be no larger than 5"x7"
so as to prevent exclusion by spacial monoploly.
5) groups and activities will not be excluded on the
basis of race, color, religion, ability,
national origin, sex, or sexual orientation.
I also received this email from the mediator
Mr. Davis and I
visited quite a while. He was very
comfortable with your arrangements and
appreciates me coming out. You didn't screw
up anything, I thought things went as planned and
yes it was good for me to get some feedback from
Mr. Davis.
I think in many
ways, he was relieved and glad that this bulletin
board was done this way. So, just so you will
know, I didn't detect any caution or concern from Mr.
Davis. He seemed quite proud of this effort to
me.
Now it will be up to the student council to do the
right thing.
Joe Quigley
3-6-02: I am more
than happy to announce that with a swiftness
unprecedented in the memories of anyone who works for
the Oklahoma City Public School District, the work
order submitted on Monday by the Principal of
NWClassen after he was presented with the bulletin
board has been completed.
Today at approximately 9:00
a.m. I was notified over the P.A. that the crew was
at school to install the bulletin board, and needed
to know where it was stored.
A few minutes later another
teacher sat in my room so that I could go and make
sure they had found the board, which they had, also
giving me the chance to take a picture of the work
crew putting it up.
So there it hangs, outside
the student cafeteria, "gift of" plate and
all.
At lunch I passed by and spoke to the principal who
was standing in the area. We both remarked on the
swiftness of the response to the work order, he being
as surprised as I.
After joking that it
might be advantageous to get all the building's work
orders and write somewhere on them that they are at
the behest of the Gay and Lesbian Community as a way
to speed up the process, he thanked me for the way
the whole bulletin board thing was handled.
In spite of earlier events,
I think the fact that this man has grown is a good
model of what should happen district wide. It also is
a very good thing for those GLBT Students who may
have been aware of the bad moments, but can see that
some good came of it.
I am not so naive as to
think that there will be no negative reaction from
the closed minded when word of this gets out, and it
will be necessary for us to be there to encourage and
support the principal when the possible phone calls
and office visits begin, and it may be a good thing
to let him know we, as a community, are there.
Joe Quigley
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