A gay teen who attends Sheridan High School in Arkansas says his yearbook profile that tells the story of his sexual preference was unfairly pulled by administrators, and he’s accusing them of discrimination.
And now Human Rights Campaign officials have entered the fray, staging a rally outside the State Capitol to support the teen’s view, CNN reported.
Taylor Ellis, 17, said the school actually took out seven student profiles — but they did so only to appear less discriminatory toward him, CNN reported. Taylor said he was openly gay, so he doesn’t understand the big deal about his profile, which reportedly tells the story of his outing, CNN reported.
But yearbook assistant editor Hannah Bruner said to KATV that “It’s a big thing in Sheridan to be gay. That’s something that doesn’t get told a lot.”
Meanwhile, Superintendent Brenda Haynes said that the decision to pull the seven profiles was made in the best interest of the school, students and community.
“We must not make decisions based on demands by any special interest group,” she said, CNN reported.
But Taylor said he’s not fooled by the school’s actions.
“We have a good idea why [the seven profiles are] not going into the yearbook,” he said, CNN reported. “They don’t want to just throw out the gay kid’s interview” and appear discriminatory. But, he added, “I’m already openly gay, so there’s no reason that it should affect how people see me.”
Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin agrees. His group collected a petition with 30,000-plus signatures and pressed the governor to intervene.
“The discriminatory exclusion by Sheridan High School administrators has nothing to do with Arkansas values,” Mr. Griffin said, KATV reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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