Investigate harassment of gay youth at Tennessee’s Sequoyah High School

Last Friday, Chris Sigler (pic), a student at Sequoyah High School, was allegedly shoved and threatened by Principal Maurice Moser simply because he wore a T-shirt in support of a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club. This incident is one in a series of disturbing actions taken by the Sequoyah High School administration in its attempts to block the formation of a GSA club. Under the Federal Equal Access Act, students have the right to form a Gay-Straight Alliance club in public schools that allow other extra-curricular clubs. When the students circulated a petition and gathered 150 student signatures supporting the club, the principal banned petitions. This brought local media scrutiny and the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the administration blocked the club based on its failure to secure an advisor. Although the students found teachers who seemed supportive and willing to serve as advisers, all eventually withdrew without explanation. Now, according to the ACLU, Principal Moser has allegedly assaulted one student, Chris Sigler, for wearing a handmade shirt that read “GSA: We’ve got your back” – grabbing his arm and chest-bumping him while asking “Who’s the big man now?”

[via Change.org]