by Marene Gustin
On Monday, February 13, members of Bastrop High School’s and Cedar Creek High School’s Gay/Straight Alliances were told their planned Week of Tolerance and dance were cancelled.
“I was very surprised at the news,” said Suzanne Winters, president of the Bastrop High School Gay/Straight Alliance, a sanctioned academic club of Bastrop Independent School District. Winters, an 18-year-old senior at BHS, said that to her knowledge no other planned club activities have been cancelled at the last minute during her two and half years at the school.
“We had been planning for about a month to have a Week of Tolerance February 14 through February 17, with a dance at Cedar Creek High School on Friday,” she explained. “We had permission from CCHS to have the dance there on Friday. On Monday our sponsor Linda Gregory told us it was cancelled because it was only for gays, despite the unambiguous name of our group.”
A shocked uncle of a CCHS student sent an e-mail to the Bastrop Independent School District (which oversees both high schools) asking why the events were cancelled.
This is the entire response he received:
“I would ask you to please refer any questions or concerns regarding any ‘cancellations’ or postponements of activities at CCHS to the Principal of that campus, Mr. Sassin. Thank you.”
Russell Sassin, CCHS principal, did not return phone calls as of posting time.
