The badges started making an appearance two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, students at Shadow Hills High School in Indio, California began displaying anti-LGBT symbols on their school ID badges.
The badges have caused worry among students and staff, the administrators have said they can’t request the students remove the symbol. Administrators say this is in the interest of protecting the students’ freedom of speech.
In an email sent to the staff, the administrators said, “After consulting with district level personnel and our legal counsel, it was determined that these students do have the protected right to freedom of speech, just as students portraying rainbows in support of the LGBT would.”
Although the email did clarify that “if at any point students are interrupting class time to express their beliefs, they are to be sent to the discipline office with a referral for disruption.” the school is allowing the students to continue to display the badges.
Student and staff have expressed concern saying the LGBT community on campus feel targeted. The students displaying the symbols have also placed one on the window of Amy Oberman, the Gay Straight Alliance coordinator’s classroom.
Oberman cited the 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v Des Moines, which established students’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech, and said, “But at least in my view, it’s a hate crime because a group was targeted. I’m Jewish, and if that had been a little swastika on my window, what’s the difference?”
Senior student and vice president of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, Michelle Backman, said the anti-gay symbols “rise to the level of bullying and intimidation.” She feels that “This group of students was publicly displaying an intolerance and hate for the LGBT community” and the badges are “definitely hate speech”. She did note that legally the students cannot do anything until physical harassment is involved.
The administrators have said they called all the students found wearing the anti-lgbt symbol were called into the office and directly told that bullying and harassment would not be tolerated.