Logan Pride Foundation Vice President Clay Essig held up the U.S. flag and a rainbow flag to illustrate different symbols represent different groups but the group represented by the rainbow flag is still represented by the U.S. flag.
LOGAN—The community continued to voice their concern on whether or not LGTBQ pride flags should be displayed in classrooms during the Logan City School District Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
The public comment section of the meeting was opened with comments from LCSD Board of Education President Larry Williams saying the board’s desire was to provide a safe space for those who would like to speak to do so freely and openly.
“We have done our best to establish a tone of neutral respect, care and consideration for all points of views,” Williams said. “This issue can be intensely emotional on both sides. Those who will speaking this evening are speaking from position of personal experience.”
Clay Essig also described the importance of each symbol and how they can be a sign of hope and safety for the people the symbol represents.
“When Americans are overseas and in crisis of war and they see [the U.S. flag], they think, ‘there is a place where I am safe and welcomed,” Essig said. “When LGBT students are in crisis or at war for their daily survival, their dignity, their sense of self-worth, their battle for physical, mental and emotional health and safety and they see this symbol, they think ‘there is a place where I am safe and welcomed.’”
According to Essig, society provides many symbols which are of no use to the majority most of the time but the symbols can save lives by guiding those who need life-saving resources like a hospital sign or the disability sign.
Essig said just like the hospital sign will not make anyone a doctor, the rainbow flag will not cause gender dysphoria.
“No matter how many times you see this symbol, it will not make you a doctor or a patient,” Essig said. “It will not subliminally coerce you or your children to accept the values of the medical community.”
Essig said as someone who tried for years to change his sexual orientation, there is no drug, therapy, medical procedure, hypnosis, amount of desire, persuasion or fasting and prayer, flag or symbol that will change sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Others subjected themselves to the torture of electroshock to change their sexual orientation with no success,” Essig said. “If such extreme and diligent efforts won’t change one’s core inherent sexual orientation and gender identity, I assure you a life-saving symbol won’t either.”
Some people, Essig said, might think he is being sarcastic or condescending with the examples he showed but said he is not.
“I am deadly serious about this because this proposed ban is deadly,” Essig said. “When you take away the only life-saving resources that LGBT students have…you’re taking away a powerful suicide prevention.”
Essig said the symbol provides students in the LGBTQ community a sense of support and since there is no way to know who is a part of the LGBTQ community, teachers and staff may not know which student they can help.
“At the very worst, this symbol can give concerned parents a wonderful opportunity to have a honest and hopefully, enlightened discussion with their children,” Essig said. “Please do not enforce this ban. Please save lives.”
During the public comment, two speakers voiced concerns of comments made by a parent in the previous meeting.
“As I’m sure you are aware, learning is compromised when students don’t feel safe,” former middle school and high school educator Ben Gunsberg. “Unfortunately, the hostility these students face sometimes creeps into these proceedings.”
According to former middle school and high school educators Mark Lee-Koven and Gunsberg, comments made were derived from a known anti-LGBTQ extreme right-wing hate group.
“For someone to put these comments forward to the school board as shared experience is shocking to me,” Lee-Koven said. “It is frightening to me to base policy on such comments.”
Gunsberg asked for individuals that make public comments to stop associating the hanging of a flag to evil or illegal behavior.
“Hate speech has no place at Logan City School Board meetings,” Gunsberg said. “It is both insulting and dishonest to suggest that teachers who hang LGBTQ plus flags in support of our most vulnerable students, are somehow involved in the vile act of grooming children.”
Gunsberg said such associations are designed to spread fear and distrust.
Former educator and member of the LCSD Board Connie Morgan said people have brought the issue to the board as political but said saying the symbol is political is misleading. She asked what the agenda was to remove the symbol and what message was sent to those that have relied on the symbol.
“We are a flagship district,” Morgan said. “I know that Logan School District is a flagship district that has grown in inclusion, safety and it sails under a stated mission above others in this state in inclusion since as long as I can remember.”
LCSD Educator Mary Morgan said the group of parents who are in favor of removing the symbols said they are in favor because it is political and there shouldn’t be political things in the schools.
“I totally agree,” Mary said. “However, pride flags are not political. They are a symbol of hope and safety.”
Mary said the flag isn’t making anyone gay but it indicates to students and adults there are people and places in the schools that are safe and by removing the flag, a message is sent to the students that they are not safe.
“My having a flag in my room doesn’t mean I’m turning any kids gay,” Mary said. “It means that I love and care for all. As a teacher in this district openly gay, I feel like it’s a slap in the face.”
Speaker Bonnie Hoff who displayed a sign that said, “yawn,” said if a simple sign with the word “yawn” can cause people to yawn and their yawn can infect the person next to them, signs can have more influence that thought.
“I think we need to be careful by assuming that we can make others feel or not feel by what they see or hear,” Hoff said.
Andrea Sinfield who said she was representing a group of over 230 parents Adams and Hillcrest Elementary School parents who are for removing the symbols from elementary schools but it was up to the board if they wanted to include secondary schools.
She said she believed individuals were infinitely more than the group they belong to.
“I can and will continue members of this group to social events or comfort my friend who broke up with his partner or invite youth to have dinner with me,” Sinfield said. “That does not mean I need to display a flag or promote ideology or allow it to be in elementary school classroom.”
Sinfield said asking for neutrality in schools does not mean kindness and respect to all minority groups cannot still be encourage.
“Neutrality is not exclusion,” Sinfield said. “Neutrality is not hate. Neutrality does not deny any person’s existence or invalidate anyone.”