Spencer, NY high school student Heathyre Farnham caused a stir this week when she showed up to school wearing a shirt reading, “Gay? Fine By Me”. Seeing the shirt, Spencer-Van Etten High School principal Ann Sincock took Farnham to the dean of students. Both officials agreed that Farnham needed to go home and change. Farnham did go home. She didn’t change, though. She refused to back down and called the media to share her story.
Though she’s aware of her school’s dress codes, which forbid potentially “disruptive” clothing, Farnham tells the Ithaca Journal she had no idea Sincock and company would object:
I think that it’s an expression of an opinion, that in my opinion, more people need to be open to. I don’t think someone who’s gay can help being gay. I have friends who are gay and none of them had a problem with the shirt. … It’s not putting anyone down. It doesn’t say straight people suck, it doesn’t say gay people suck. It just says it’s OK to be gay.
Sincock refused to comment on the specifics of the situation. Farnham’s mother, meanwhile, supports her daughter entirely. In fact, she bought Farnham the shirt!
Mother knows best.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Qjersey
in Ithaca NY? the home of Cornell and Ithaca College that both have long histories of LGBT activism? Those wonks must really have their head up their ass. But then again, I’m from Jersey, which has its own pockets of stupidity in an otherwise progressive state.