Filled With Pride...

As most of you know, I've been a school administrator for a long time. In addition, this is the fourth high school where I have been principal. However, this past weekend contained a series of firsts for me. It's the first school where we have been picketed by an outside group. The reason of course was the Point Player production of "The Laramie Project". The Westboro group did show up, even though there were only three of them.

Another first for me was the tremendous show of support for our students and school by members of the Christ Church congregation. I have to personally thank Rev. Brad Whitaker for his organization of a most impressive and visible (but silent) show of support. I would estimate the throng that followed the protesters from the church to the school to be in the neighborhood of 100-150 adults. Their symbolic act was to shield the students from the protesters by turning their back to them. It was very moving for me to see that many people assemble on a Friday afternoon for the sake of doing what is right and to support the students of South.

Another proud moment for me was to watch the South students that did assemble near the protesters once school was dismissed. The students, while passionate, allowed the protesters to do their thing and did not attempt to engage them in a negative manner. The Laramie cast was there in full force and many pictures were taken. I couldn't help but think that specific 30 minutes must have made them feel all the rehearsals were worthwhile.

The capstone of the weekend for me was the performance of the play. Without question, this was the most significant school play during all my years in education. There was an electricity in the auditorium even prior to the curtain going up, and the house was full. I guess we should thank Westboro for all of the free publicity.

The show itself was simply terrific! Lois Bendler was the director and provided consistent, steady leadership throughout the events leading up the performance. Each of the students did a great job and it was hard to believe they were high school students. I can't imagine a professional group providing a more passionate performance.

There were countless moving moments during the show and many tears were shed by those in the audience. Everyone involved with this production has earned my utmost respect for their efforts in putting on a performance that will have lasting impact. I left convinced that the message of tolerance and respect for others will live in the hearts of those in the audience, and cast.

All in all, "The Laramie Project" brought with it a great deal of controversy. I would be lying if I told you I was not the least bit concerned that something could go wrong. However, in retrospect it was a tremendous show with a powerful message and like so many performances with South students, it was superb. I couldn't be more proud of what they have done.

Sometimes The Best Advice Is Just To Watch

The past couple of weeks has been a bit of a learning experience for me. I guess I didn't realize people had such strong and personal feelings about issues that appear more neutral to me.

My previous blog was written in the early stages of feedback about the school's performance of "The Laramie Project". Since that time, most of the buzz has died down even as the opening of the play draws nearer. However, I still get an occasional email or voice mail message where someone shares their very strong opinion. Most people are still supportive of the school's position but there are occasions where I am criticized. What has surprised me is the depth of feelings.

I was told by the Farms police today that we should expect the protest to take place. The requested time is 2:45-3:30 on Friday afternoon, November 21, the day the play is to open. They claim to be sending 4-6 people and have already requested the appropriate permits and the particular area for the protest.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are very legally astute and they will do their part to operate within the law. They are probably hoping that members of our community will engage them in a war of words, or worse. I believe the best action we can take is to let them protest for their 45 minutes and leave peacefully for their next appointment.

Our goal should be simply to observe the actions and reactions that result from endorsing a controversial play like "The Laramie Project". Because of the protest, our bubble of Grosse Pointe will get to experience the wide-ranging views of many observers. Some will be vocal, but most will not. Either way, watching it unfold should cause us to think and give us a brief glimpse of true democracy in action.

The Laramie Project

For those of you that aren’t aware, the drama group at South known as the Pointe Players are performing “The Laramie Project” on November 21-22-23. This play was conceived from hundreds of interviews that chronicled a town’s reaction to a killing that occurred just over 10 years ago. The background is that Matt Shepard was gay, a college student, and was brutally murdered by two men.

This is taken from Time magazine…A month after the murder of Matthew Shepard, the frenzied media coverage was beginning to subside. But just then the beleaguered town of Laramie got another influx of visitors. They were actors from NYC who had cast themselves as reporters. The actors talked to more than 200 people and amassed over 400 hours of interviews over the next year and a half. Verbatim excerpts from those interviews make up the text for the play, an unusual mix of drama and documentary.

The Westboro Baptist Church out of Topeka, KS sent a fax to the The Detroit News on Monday stating that they were planning to protest the play here at South on 11/21. This is the same group that protests at funerals of slain US soldiers from the war in Iraq. Their theory is that these military deaths are the punishment for a country that supports homosexuality. They were in Grosse Pointe to protest a military funeral at the War Memorial less than a year ago. They also stated they would protest the play unless a military funeral elsewhere supersedes the need to protest here.

Since Monday, I have also been contacted by The Free Press, WJR, and 97.1 concerning the project. They wanted to know if we were going to cancel the play because of the potential protest. After telling them we would continue with our plans, I see two potential outcomes:
1) There is no formal protest and our talented kids perform in front of a larger than anticipated audience because of all the free publicity.

2) There is a formal protest and we use that opportunity as a “teachable moment” to discuss with students the feelings associated with strong beliefs that reflect our individual moral compasses.

In either case, our kids benefit from performing the play.

I wanted to let you know so that you were prepared for potential questions. I have to tell you that phone calls and email messages that I have received have been 99.9% in support of our position.

Thanks for reading.