Tue Oct 18, 2011
HARTFORD, October 18, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.coom) - Several students at a Hartford high school expressed horror and left the auditorium when two male members of a city-funded school play shared a passionate kiss onstage on Friday. School officials said they opted against informing parents about the event ahead of time, saying that the students needed exposure to homosexuality, and hailed the “chaotic” reaction as a victory for raising the gay issue.
The kiss occurred during Hartford Public High School’s production of “Zanna, Don’t!,” a play depicting a world in which homosexuality is normative and heterosexuals take up the role of “outcasts.”
The Hartford Courant reported that “screams and loud voices” and sounds of disgust came from the audience during the display of affection, while “dozens” of mostly male students left the auditorium. While some trickled back in, officials had to prevent many from leaving the school building.
School officials had told students that homosexual displays of affection would be featured in the play, and many asked to be excused. One school official cited by The Courant, nursing academy principal David Chambers, said that he had considered sending an opt-out letter to parents before changing his mind. The school reportedly received a number of phone calls from parents following the incident.
The play, available to students free of charge, was a joint effort between Connecticut gay youth group True Colors and a local youth leadership program, and was funded in part by the city of Hartford.
Chambers said that students needed to learn empathy towards homosexuals and exposure to things that would make them uncomfortable. “Our kids are not there yet,” he said. Chambers also suggested that the reaction of disgust was a good sign, indicating a release of students’ inner conflict about homosexuality.
Full story HERE
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