Maui parents’ reaction
curtails showing of
gay-tolerance video

WAILUKU » Officials from a Maui high school have restricted the showing of a video about discrimination against homosexuals after some parents objected.

King Kekaulike High School officials had planned this month to play the 50-minute video, "It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues," to ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade students during their advisory classes where pupils receive counseling.

Kenneth Nomura, the area school superintendent, said after he met with Principal Susan Scofield and some teachers, they decided to allow only students with parental permission to view the video.

The decision came after about 30 parents watched the video at the school library on Wednesday night, and raised objections.

Students were given a slip yesterday and asked to check whether or not they wanted to see the video and to have their parents sign the permission slip granting them access to view it on June 3.

Nomura said the decision was based on school board policy that calls for schools to present various viewpoints on controversial issues.

Ron Akre, a grandparent of a student, said the majority of people attending the Wednesday viewing were against the showing of the video because it portrayed Christians as being the "bad guys."

"Those that were Christians were offended," Akre said.

He said the video wasn't well-researched and gave some false statistics about the percentage of gay people committing suicide.

"I don't think it should be shown, period," he said. "They're promoting their gay agenda."

Akre said he felt there must be a better video for viewing, including one that showed people who are happy with their decision to step away from a gay lifestyle.

Not all parents agreed with the school officials' decision, however.

Connie McAboy said the video was intended to help solve problems of harassment and physical abuse of homosexual students on campus.

McAboy, whose 17-year-old son Tony is gay, said she felt parents' criticism of the video was placing the wrong emphasis on the issue.

"They're turning it into something different," she said. "The issue to me is there's a problem at the school, and they were trying some way to address it."

Tony McAboy said the harassment problem is so bad that he has decided to get a GED rather than attend his senior year at the school in Pukalani. And he said that one gay friend who was beaten has transferred out of King Kekaulike.

Still, parent Benjamin Massenburg questioned whether playing the video would accomplish the desired effect.

"I'm concerned something like this would be more polarizing," he said.

Massenburg said he felt the school should explore discrimination and harassment of various groups and not just one group.

"If there's an issue of disrespect on campus, I think it needs to be treated in a broader perspective," he said.

Scofield was unavailable for comment, but in a May 12 memorandum to parents, Scofield wrote that the video which had received awards, was intended to promote tolerance and a recognition of the diversity of humanity.

Troy Hashimoto, the state school board student member and a senior at King Kekaulike, said he favored the initial plan to show the video and allow students whose parents objected to it to attend a study hall class.

"It's a big hassle now that we have to go through this paperwork," Hashimoto said.

He said that while he understands the decision to restrict the viewing, he hopes it does not require the school to show points of view that advocate intolerance.

He said he doesn't think that there is a huge problem regarding intolerance of homosexuality at his school.

"In any school, there are a few people not really tolerant of people," he said. "The bottom line of the school is we try to look at diversity, understanding others and tolerating others ... that's what the teachers want to see."

But Tony McAboy said teenage boys and girls have thrown rocks at him and other gay students at the school and not enough has been done to stop the atmosphere of harassment.

"The teachers look the other way. It's frustrating, extremely frustrating," he said.