(no subject)
March 6, 2007
Dear John Jay Community Members:
I appreciate the concerns expressed by students and parents over the
monologue issue that occurred last Friday night at the “Open Mic Night.”
John Jay High School recognizes and respects student freedom of expression
in the context of the school setting. That right, however, is not
unfettered, particularly when an activity or event is open to the general
school community where it is expected that young children may be in
attendance. The challenge is to balance the rights of student speakers
and the sensitivities of the community. The School’s response to that
challenge was to pre-audition the students before several faculty members
for the “Open Mic Night” and to determine the suitability of the intended
presentations for the audience. In many cases, younger siblings, often
elementary age, attend these types of events. This event was also being
videotaped for the local cable television channel.
When a student is told by faculty members not to present specified
material because of the composition of the audience and they agree to do
so, it is expected that the commitment will be honored and the directive
will be followed. When a student chooses not to follow the directive,
consequences follow. The students did not receive consequences because of
the content of the presentation.
There is a clear difference between putting on a production of a play such
as “The Vagina Monologues” and an open performance at the microphone of an
excerpt from the play before unsuspecting parents and their children. In
the first case, the community would have been aware of the nature of the
production and could have made an educated decision to attend or not to
attend based upon that knowledge. In the case of the “Open Mic Night,”
the community was invited with the expectation that the pieces presented
would be appropriate for the general community, including younger
children. Parents and community members did not have the ability to make
an educated decision about the appropriateness of the content of the
presentations for younger children.
There is also a clear difference between what is read and discussed in the
classroom and what is presented in an activity open to the entire
community. Our judgment was guided by the forum, the audience and the
students’ commitment. Our decision was made in a considered, careful and
thoughtful manner.
Sincerely,
Rich Leprine
Principal, JJHS
if you were interested....
idk. im quite sick of hearing about it.
i just slept for 4 hours and i'm still tired.
i can't nap w/o my mom thinking i'm depressed and threatening to take me to a therapist.
today was funny. in a disgusting kind of way.
maura: i look like a scaley vagina
kb: you look like a skanky scaely vagina
maura:haha SS Vagina...omggg. if we get a saiboat...which we will...can we name it S.S Vagina!
by the end of gym maura was a sweaty smelly over heated skanky scaley vagina