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Opinion

Bill wants Jack to pick Jill, not Phil

Christian Ochoa
Opinion Columnist

College applications are crammed with application fees, SAT scores, essays, teacher recommendations and, of course, the long the list of extracurricular activities you said you were involved with. High school activities provide good times, memories and stories to reminisce on in your 20s. So why did the Georgia House of Representatives pass a bill that would require students to notify their parents before joining a club?

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Georgian politicians passed a bill that would allow parents to block their children from joining clubs they disapprove of. The defense for this legislature is best explained in the words of Republican Rep. Bobby Reese, the bill's sponsor, who said parents must know "what's going on in their children's lives." 

Rep. Reese said having legislation that forces parents to approve the clubs that teenagers join is not the best way to promote parental involvement.

Why does the state of Georgia care so much about a student's club involvement? It's actually a deliberate attempt to restrain one type of club: gay-straight alliances. With the same-sex marriage debate still present in our political culture, GSA -- which has been labeled as part of an agenda to promote the acceptance of homosexuality -- has been under fire from conservative groups.

This legislation is another in a series to curb the presence of gay-straight alliances. In March 2005, officials of White County High School in Cleveland, Ga., banned the formation of a GSA on campus. In April 2005, anti-gay groups countered the "Day of Silence" -- a student-led project to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender tolerance -- with their "Day of a Truth," a project aimed to promote homosexuality as a "sinful lifestyle." On Feb. 9, a bill banning GSAs from high schools was pulled from a senate committee in Utah -- only because the sponsor of the bill had become ill.

There are many choices and lifestyles students can partake of in high school that can lead to a destructive path, but -- this might stupefy Rep. Reese and his brethren -- participating in a GSA or any group that promotes acceptance is not a negative thing. High school is a four-year prison of awkward tension, strange encounters and embarrassing moments for every student, especially teenagers who are struggling to accept their sexuality. GSA, a Christian student union, a Muslim student association, even the chess club -- all of these organizations bring students with the same mentality and list of priorities together for a base of support and help with the chaotic mess of high school life. GSA aims to make school safe for every student, regardless of the individual's sexual orientation.

Rep. Reese, since you talk about knowing "what's going on" in the lives of students, I would assume participating in a group that promotes tolerance would be a good thing. If you and your supporters are against students joining these groups because of the fear of "spreading" homosexuality, you should at least let students join GSA for college application purposes. A group that promotes tolerance would look fabulous on the extensive club list.

Ochoa, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at thecochoa@gmail.com