Christian school kicked a teen out for being gay
A snoopy fellow student at school told several heads in the administration that Barnett was gay and was running a gay-themed Web site. He was called into the office and grilled about the site and his sexual orientation.
After the discussion Barnett asked the principal repeatedly not to inform his parents. “I again emphasized and I explicitly said, ‘I am 18, I reserve the right for my parents not to know and I do not want them involved.’”
Barnett couldn’t believe what happened next.
“The first people I see to walk in the door are my mother and my father,” he said. “This is where I bury my head in my hands and don’t really know what to do, how to respond. I, for the first time in my life, have never felt that betrayed and first time I’ve ever been speechless.”
Barnett had just been outed by the school administration. “They tell my parents I am ‘struggling with homosexuality.’ My mother broke down in tears, my dad wasn’t particularly thrilled.”
The school took six days to decide that Barnett should be expelled, citing “immoral behavior and supporting an immoral cause” as the reason.
“The reason for expulsion and the suspension is the fact that what I have done is a Class A offense. I am not given a chance to appeal to honor council. “It’s ‘too sensitive.’”
Before the expulsion the administration insisted that Barnett pull his site, even though it was not stored on the school server. It was suggested that if he complied, he might be reinstated. That didn’t happen. He has since put his site up on a private server, which is costing him $200 a month.
1) A private Christian high school expelled a student for being gay and creating a website on homosexuality. Actually the website was “found” by another student who reported it to the school.
2) The 18 year old student told the school not to inform the parents but the parents were informed.
The school is a private one (student had to pay $130,000 a year). Does the fact that it is a private institution means that it is able to set the rules on who to admit and who to expel? Much akin to the private schools in the south following integration of the education system. But as pointed out by the person in his website, there was this other student who was caught with drugs in school but was allowed to stay after a ‘donation’ from the parents. So even if the school had the right to expel, it failed in applying its rules equally to all students.
It’s $130,000 total for the 12 years. $12,000 per year for high school at TCA.
From TCA’s website:
“Trinity Christian Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin.”
Probably should change it to “Trinity Christian Academy admits heterosexual Christian students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin.”