Question: Why is it a big deal that this school expelled two “lesbian” students?
Answer: It isn’t.
I am not going to even touch on the religious aspect. That isn’t important to the discussion. AFAIK, a private school is like any other “private club”. If they don’t want you in the club, they can kick you out. It is your club. It doesn’t make sense for somebody to say “well, we don’t agree with you, but you can be in our club, even though what you do/think doesn’t go along with what our club is about”. Kind of silly if you ask me.
Especially if the “club” in question is a church based private school. I mean the whole point is having a school around their beliefs. So why would you just let any person in, just because? If the State could force private schools (and not just those whom are based around a particular religon) to accept students that they don’t want then the school isn’t private anymore, is it? It’s just another State/Public school without the beneift of state funding that students would have to pay to go to. Making sense yet? I didn’t think so.
What about tax exemptions? That doesn’t mean that the Government, State or Federal, can tell them what to do otherwise. That is like saying the Government can tell the United Way what they have to do. Being a Not-for-Profit organization doesn’t mean that you have to answer to the Government. You just aren’t allowed to make money that you don’t immediately reinvest in the organization.
A commentor on Digg summed things up well:
If religious schools were forced to accept gays, then the all-female academies could be forced to accept men and vice-versa, the Jewish schools could be forced to accept Christians, private academies with very high academic standards could be forced to accept students who don’t meet their requirements…slippery slope that ends with no private schools at all.
Most private institutions are founded around a common idea, or belief, or something that makes them individual, be it religion, gender, academic standards, or what have you. Some people are willing to pay large sums of money to have their children educated in these institutions. If you remove their individuality, you are forcing them to become just like a public school. Why would I pay thousands to send my child to one public school when there’s a state funded one right down the street that the only fees are taxes which I pay anyway?
Of course the schools can’t be allowed to beat their students (although I think all teachers should be allowed to crack a student upside the head if they act up/out) but they are quite well within their right to set specific requirements for enrollment in their school. If those aren’t met then you don’t get in or you don’t get to stay.
