In Tennessee: A High School yearbook Article on a Gay Student causes Controversy

More mess from my home state.

A School Board member has exercised his right to be an idiot. Van Shaver found an article on Zac Mitchell, a gay student in the Lenoir City High School yearbook to be alarming.

So what does he do?

This fool calls for a criminal investigation on the faculty advisors for allowing the gay article to exist.

Knoxnews.com reports:

On his blog, Loudon County school board member Van Shaver called for a criminal investigation into the faculty advisers. Shaver said he believes in being tolerant of an others' life choices but said he is concerned that the students are being unduly influenced.

"What I am intolerant of is an adult, a teacher no less, inflicting their personal beliefs and sexual orientation decisions on impressionable students," Shaver said.

The journalism student said she was given the assignment to write the story by the student editor of the yearbook. The faculty advisers did review the suggested topics but did not try to influence the students, she said.

"My journalism professor never once pressured us to have certain beliefs," she said.

 The sad things about all of this are the reactions. According to some of the students and a faculty advisor, folks are putting out petitions to tear out the gay article from the yearbook or ban the gay student from their own graduation.

Check out Van's post on this issue after the jump

This is word for word

In this twisted world we live in, some may believe It's OK to be gay but it's darn sure not OK for teachers to be promoting homosexuality in our high schools.    Below is the page in this year's Lenoir City High School year book promoting a gay life style. I do not know the young man featured in the article nor do I even know if he is a student. But I do know this article could not have made it into the year book without a teacher approving it. You will note it is written in the third person. Who was the interviewer? According to the Lenoir City High School web site, journalism teacher, James Yoakley, is responsible for both the publication of the year book and the school news paper, the same paper where all the controversy over the atheist student's manifesto came from. Journalism   Instructor: Yoakley, James D.    This class offers a variety of learning experiences in business, graphic arts, photography, and writing. This is a production class in which the member accepts responsibility for the creation of the yearbook and newspaper. Click Here For Web Site Mr. Yoakley is also the teacher who a couple of years ago refused to allow the two students Christian based article to run in the Panther Press. So apparently, Mr. Yoakley would discourage Christian values yet promote atheism and homosexuality.      Some might think I'm intolerant toward homosexuals but that would be wrong. If an individual wants to be a homosexual, that's their own decision and they will have to live with the consequences of that decision. What I am intolerant of is an adult, a teacher no less, inflicting their personal beliefs and sexual orientation decisions on impressionable students.   If in fact it was Mr. Yoakley or any other teacher who allowed this article to be published in the year book, they should be dismissed from the school immediately. If it is found or known that Mr. Yoakley or any other teacher at any time has had any conversations or discussions with this student or any other student about their sexual orientation, sexual activities or anything about their private lives prior to those students being of legal age, those teachers should be charged with child sex abuse by an authority figure and arrested. I and I know many other parents and members of our community expect a full and open investigation by school administrators and law enforcement into this issue and to hold accountable any and all those who had a hand in this despicable act.   To my fellow school board members. Contrary to what you have been told and taught, you do have the right and the authority to eliminate substandard employees.