Ever since we published the story about two lesbian students at Del City High School in Oklahoma allegedly facing discrimination based on their sexual orientation, a number of people have come forward in defense of the school and its administration, challenging the validity of the girls’ accusations. The Daily Kos is reporting the following statement from a local, gay reporter:
“There’s a lot more to this story than what the gay sites are putting out . . . the one girl moved out of her district to move in with her girlfriend. That was the basis in the school telling her if she’d move back with her mother she could attend. The only thing it had to do with her living arrangement was that she was no longer in the district.”
Hicks recently spoke with The Advocate again, explaining the circumstances under which she changed districts:
After two weeks, Hicks decided to return to regular day school at Del City High, but when she approached John Benardello, the principal in charge of the senior class, she said he only put her down and said she should drop out due to her “unhealthy lifestyle.”
But the story didn’t seem to add up to anyone at Del City High. Commenters on every news outlet where this story has been reported vehemently deny the charges as well as the characterization of their hometown.
After observing the debates happening on comment boards around the internet regarding this story, including our own, we solicited commentary from various current and former students of DCHS, all of whom were eager to share their stories and offer their insights into the environment of the school and the characters of the individuals involved. Obviously it’s important to remember that these are opinions, but in a story based solely on personal testimony, we think it’s important to listen to everyone.
One student, who graduated in 2009 and wished to remain anonymous, stated that she had never witnessed discrimination at the school and referred to DCHS as “the most accepting school I’ve ever been to.” Regarding Assistant Principal John Bernardello, she described him as “an amazing man. He does everything he can to make sure students stay in school and graduate on time, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or GPA... If the principal involved said he doesn’t approve of their “lifestyles,” I’m more than sure he meant that they disobey rules, they party, and engage in underage drinking.”
Another former student, also an out lesbian who requested she remain anonymous, stated that “those principals under fire were my principals for three years. I came out my senior year in high school and both of those principals were very accepting of it . . . So many students have gone through DCHS who were Gay/Lesbian and almost all of them have graduated, many with honors. The principals have helped several students graduate who would have never thought about it otherwise.”
Both commenters stated that the girls were not kicked off the softball team for being gay – the school’s sports teams count many gay and lesbians students as members – but rather for failing grades, in accordance with a school policy. Both expressed serious skepticism of the validity of the girls’ statements based on firsthand knowledge of the girls themselves, including a history of making shit up.
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Recently there have been several cases of stories about gay discrimination turning out to have murky details: there was the case of Cheyenne Williams, who claimed her friends attacked her for being gay, which eventually proved to be bullshit, and the most recent story about Terrell Williams, a supposed gay-bullying-related suicide that ended up being a hoax. Generally, as bloggers, we tend to pick up a story when it’s been reported by at least two reputable sources — for example; The Advocate, America’s oldest continuing LGBT publication (founded in 1967) is respected as a trusted, reputable and impeccably operated first-source for LGBT news. They’ve built their reputation on telling the honest stories mainstream media tends to ignore. Well, not anymore. (We also trusted their story about Terrell Williams, which simply disappeared from the website as soon as Queerty figured out it was a hoax)
From Daily Kos:
The Advocate has published a story they did not fully investigate, based on a local TV news story that also didn’t get all the facts. When I read the Advocate piece, I flew off the handle too, because I am a peace and justice activist and it sounded awful. But the students at the school, including openly gay ones, have come to the defense of their administration and THEY should be the main ones we listen to.
Daily Kos also spoke to school principal Gina Hill:
I just got off the phone with Principal Gina Hill, I have also talked to a local independent investigative reporter — who is gay — and this story is not true the story the girls tell cannot be confirmed, and what can be confirmed indicates that the school has not done what they have been accused of.
The thing is, with stories like these it’s difficult to find a balance between a healthy amount of skepticism and the knowledge that gay people face institutionalized oppression all the time and of course the school is going to deny any wrongdoing or of course the girls who Cheyenne Williams claimed attacked her would say it was just a prank gone awry. It’s hard to know who to trust, you know? It’s important to be skeptical and question everything (because false reporting on issues like this only does a disservice to those who make legitimate claims) but it’s also important to believe someone when they say they’ve been done wrong, especially an oppressed person claiming to have suffered an injustice, because that belief might be their only source of support and validation in the face of a hostile, disbelieving society.
That being said, under-investigated stories that eventually prove false are really damaging to the rest of us. That’s why it’s so important that publications like The Advocate investigate these things thoroughly before reporting. A potentially false and even libelous story like this can spread so quickly that Change.org can put up a petition and gather over 500 signatures without having all the information. And in the race to be the first news outlet to get top billing on Google News, bloggers don’t double-check sources, mostly because we lack the resources that funded institutions like the NBC/Regent Media-owned Advocate or even Gawker possess and therefore can’t be reporters most of the time. You don’t come to Autostraddle.com expecting to see first-hand reporting, you expect reactions, analysis and information on stories found elsewhere on the internet — which isn’t to say we don’t do our own reporting at times, we do, and want to. But those magical hyperlinks let you know what’s going on here.
So who do we trust, those of us you’ve entrusted to look out for your best interests?
We’d like to end with this quote from one of our sources: “Our girls basketball team has produced some amazing Lesbian players.”
Also: could everyone please stop hating on Oklahoma for being backwards and crazy? Not only did our bisexual editor spend some of the best days of her wanton adolescence with her gay best friend in locations including but not limited to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Poteau (home of world’s highest hill), and the Applebee’s in nearby Fort Smith, Arkansas, but PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE. Sweeping generalizations about an entire state are just as harmful and useless as sweeping generalizations about anything else. Focus your outrage where it belongs, people!
Rusty Surette, the News9 reporter who first broke this story, is working on a follow-up piece in which students and community members address the situation. We’re interested to see what he turns up.
ETA: Here it is!
