GILROY
– The controversial performance by Gilroy High School drama
students Feb. 6, littered with sexual innuendo and under
investigation by high school and district administration, is
sparking concern from some school board members who say the
material was inappropriate.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – The controversial performance by Gilroy High School drama students Feb. 6, littered with sexual innuendo and under investigation by high school and district administration, is sparking concern from some school board members who say the material was inappropriate.
Trustees, who did not view the performances that took place in the GHS theater in front of roughly 1,000 students, are awaiting the results of the investigation, but discussed the incident at Thursday’s board meeting.
Superintendent Edwin Diaz, along with several trustees, expressed disappointment over the sexual content included in the skits.
“I think it’s something that we all should be concerned about,” Diaz said at Thursday’s board meeting, calling the previous week’s events “unfortunate.”
Trustee David McRae said that the drama classes’ performances probably would not pass muster when considered in light of the board policy covering controversial issues. The policy is one of nine being reviewed by the board.
Just as parents are to be notified of the core and supplementary instructional materials teachers will use throughout the year, they should also be notified of explicit content included in activities, McRae said.
“I was reading through that policy and wondering how that policy would be adapted to this situation,” McRae said. “There should be parental notification and an opportunity for students to opt out.”
However, a balance must be struck between encouraging artistic freedom and protecting students from material they find inappropriate, McRae said.
Rather than applying the controversial issues policy to the drama Showcase, Trustee Jim Rogers said the skits should not have been controversial to begin with.
“If they were showing a film that they thought was correct to show but it had an R rating, they should notify the parents,” he said. “(That) this kind of stuff was not supposed to be questionable or controversial, I think is the key here.”
The GHS drama Showcase in question featured multiple skits performed during the school day. Classes were invited to the event and attended as a whole.
“The main issue is, I would never want any student or family to be forced to take part in something they’re uncomfortable with, but it’s really important to maintain that this was an attempt at an artistic expression that went too far, and that’s different than an act of violence on campus,” McRae said.
While acknowledging that not all students were involved in the questionable behavior, Diaz emphasized that the content was inappropriate for school.
“Given the way it was reported and my understanding of it, regardless (of whether attendance was mandatory), I don’t think it was appropriate,” Diaz said.
There were three Showcase performances Feb. 6, in which students from different drama classes performed sketches they had selected and rehearsed, followed by improvisational comedy segments. The 260-seat theater was full each time, requiring dozens of students to stand.
At the Showcase attended by a Dispatch reporter, not all the skits included sexual innuendoes, and not all of the sex-related skits contained explicit references, but many did.
“I think there should be a presentation so we can get all the facts out there, absolutely,” McRae said. “It’s been such a public issue, whatever comes out should be reported on, in reason … just to get an overall feeling of what occurred.”
He suggested the board discuss the Showcase content again when reviewing its policy on controversial issues. The policy was supposed to go before trustees for a “first read” last Thursday but was postponed until the March 4 meeting.
It “obligates teachers to approach controversial issues in the spirit of inquiry rather than advocacy and in conformity with the provision of professional codes of ethics.”
Trustee John Gurich, speaking at last week’s meeting, cited a letter to the editor of The Dispatch, written by a student involved in the production, that said not every drama student should be punished for the indiscretions of a few.
Gurich suggested the high school administration talk about the issue before taking action, saying that GHS has more checks and balances in place than other schools.
Diaz said that GHS still must hold itself to a high standard.
“I think we have an obligation as a public school to have in place a certain standard on behavior content and make sure that those are enforced,” Diaz said. “We just need to be as rigorous in the public schools because kids are a captive audience there.”
Just as movies have a rating system that warns of content inappropriate for children and even prevents teenagers under 17 years old from viewing certain movies unsupervised, GHS should keep its content to an age- and school-appropriate level, he said.
Trustees’ opinions reflect those of the general public who responded to a Dispatch Web poll.
A voluntary poll on The Dispatch Web site last week asked visitors to indicate whether they believed the GHS skits were racy and crossed the line. At the close of the poll Tuesday, with roughly 100 votes cast, 58 percent said “yes,” 34 percent said “no,” and 8 percent were undecided.
