Sunday February 24, 2013, 7:15 pm
ndiana School Suspends Teacher Who Believes Gays Have No Purpose

By Zack Ford on Feb 21, 2013 at 10:05 am

Whether or not to have a straights-only prom has embroiled Indiana’ Northeast School corporation in a national controversy, particularly because of the comments made by special education teacher Diana Medley. Not only does she believe being gay is a choice influenced by “life circumstances,” but she doesn’t even believe gay people have any sort of purpose in life. Last week, Northeast Superintendent Mark A. Baker defended Medley’s right to free speech, apparently offering no concern about the potential harm to students by such comments. Given the controversy has not died down, it seems Medley has now been placed on administrative leave and the school has also increased security measures, according to a new statement from Baker:

As many of you know and appreciate, our school corporation is continuing to manage as responsibly and respectfully as possible the fallout from comments made by an employee as she attended a meeting outside of school or a school activity.

We have conveyed our disappointment and our disagreement with these statements and have emphasized her comments do not reflect our schools’ views or opinions.

The administration and one school employee in particular at North Central Jr/Sr High School have received aggressive email messages. We are turning over to law enforcement all such communications. Further, and as a precaution, the Indiana State Police and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department have deemed it necessary to station an officer at our high school. Additionally, these law enforcement agencies, while they are here, are familiarizing themselves with our buildings, as is part of their regular training.

For that, we are grateful for their support of our school and our students. This matter has created some heartbreaking differences in opinion. Please know we are always going to put the safety of our students and faculty first and any disruption of our educational process will be managed quickly.

In response to our concerns for the safety and security of everyone in our buildings, we have placed the employee at the center of this concern on administrative leave.

It’s unfortunate that safety has become a concern at the school, but it’s also disappointing that the school has not taken any responsibility for the impact of Medley’s comments on students. From this statement, it seems Medley’s suspension is only for her own safety and not to protect students from her very negative message of rejection. Though the district is to be commended for distancing itself from her remarks, it’s not clear that administrators have taken any steps to improve (or even assess) the climate for LGBT students.

Sunday February 24, 2013, 7:32 pm
Good Posting, thanks

Sunday February 24, 2013, 8:25 pm
People who are hung up on sex, or gender, always seem to me to believe we have nothing to do in our lives that is more important than f**king. This pretty well spells that out, doesn't it? Personally I do have more important things to do and I imagine everyone here does too.

Sunday February 24, 2013, 9:00 pm
Thanks J.L. for the update on this situation. Sad that they can see the need to defend her comments but if her comment do not reflect the schools policy then she should be fired, not suspended. Contracts usually have a clause that states the employee must support their policies or be terminated. Read and noted.

Sunday February 24, 2013, 9:06 pm
You are welcome Jason.
You cannot currently send a star to Joanne because you have done so within the last week.
You are welcome John. Excellent policies point!You cannot currently send a star to John because you have done so within the last week.

Sunday February 24, 2013, 9:42 pm
I suppose if this teacher had fiollowed the current political orthodoxy and praised homosexuality there would be no problem. The left only supports free speech when they agree with it.

Sunday February 24, 2013, 9:44 pm
She has a right to her opinion. It was something said outside of the school and not at a school function. It sounds as if some idiots are sending threatening emails to the school and employee. Those are the kinds of people that you need to really watch out for. What is really sad is that some people find it sad when free speech is defended.

Sunday February 24, 2013, 9:54 pm
How did she make it through College??

Sunday February 24, 2013, 9:55 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Rose because you have done so within the last week.

Monday February 25, 2013, 10:41 am
Love is love whatever the genders involved!

My God, how can those narrow minded people still exist in 2013?

Monday February 25, 2013, 10:56 am
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Tuesday February 26, 2013, 3:02 am
She should never be allowed to teach again!

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 3:40 am
Rose, lot's of these idiots make it through college. Critical thinking skills are no longer valued in higher education, to the detriment of everyone.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 5:54 am
What she "believes" is not her opinion, it's ignorance.

I agree with those that say she should be fired. We should expect the people that teach youth to not need so much schooling themselves.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 8:39 am
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Tuesday February 26, 2013, 12:33 pm
I hope this teacher sues the school district. Her first amendment rights were clearly violated.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 1:03 pm
Noted. I sure wouldn't want her teaching anyone in my family....I hope she's fired, too. Maybe all teachers need to pass a course in "sensitivity awareness" prior to being hired....

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 1:25 pm
Yes she has the right to speak her mind, but if she says such mean, hurtful things to her students or while on school property (thus representing the school), she should be suspended, and fired. I would personally like to slap that smug smile off her face!

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 1:35 pm
Insulting and degrading students because they were born gay may be freedom of speech but not something she can sue over. Teachers are supposed to teach subjects such as math, reading, etc. The fact she is faculty means she should not make such demeaning statements to or about students. She is not fit to teach except classes in hate-she would be great at that. She might try suing but then she would also open herself up for defamation of character and causing mental anguish suits from any gay children or their parents. She is not fit to teach children and should pursue a different career.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 1:40 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Beth because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 1:43 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Lois because you have done so within the last week.
Do you know the terms of her contract regarding voicing opinions on school policies other than in private Craig?

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 2:02 pm
I am embarrassed that she is in my state. If she was teaching at my daughters' school, I am pretty sure the school would have done more than a leave of absence. Wondering why that school did not say they would have classes on diversity and meeting with all the teachers about sensitivity training. Interesting too is that if a student writes a hate message calling someone Gay on text or internet they get in trouble, shouldn't the same apply here?

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 2:03 pm
Oh I also left out, this woman is ignorant and prejudiced and to teach special education is just soooo wrong. I cannot stand even looking at her smug little smile here.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 2:40 pm
As a special needs teacher, this woman should have the innate compassion to be sympathetic to those in a minority. Religious views blocking her compassion?

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 3:13 pm
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Tuesday February 26, 2013, 3:14 pm
noted

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 4:03 pm
Discrimination doesn't belong in education.

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 4:05 pm
Noted

Tuesday February 26, 2013, 4:34 pm
You cannot currently send a star to greenplanet because you have done so within the last week.

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 12:24 am
I doubt if anyone from the left would be 'praising' homosexuality. As left-leaning people are more accepting of differences, they probably don't feel the need to talk about it at all!

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 12:30 am
What a nauseating woman. She has no business teaching anyone. The school seems more concerned about blaming those who may be angry with her than dealing with her poisonous message to students. Are there no intelligent people out there willing to educate children now? Has it become 'those who cannot think, teach'?

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 7:42 am
Excellent points Diane and Carla! Most moral systems, including religious ones, direct persons to love and respect others not to harm or hurt. Government and school policies also direct respectful behavior and no harm or hurt.
You cannot currently send a star to Diane because you have done so within the last week
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Wednesday February 27, 2013, 4:23 pm
What exactly did she do or say? Not think. The dream police have come inside of my head....

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 4:27 pm
' Whether or not to have a straights-only prom...Not only does she believe being gay is a choice influenced by “life circumstances,” but she doesn’t even believe gay people have any sort of purpose in life." tells how inappropriate the words were (as those who read the article can see easily).

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 5:30 pm
Gee whiz ~ where to start on this one.

Surely, she doesn't base her ideas on Christianity, as Christ would have a real problem with her.
Actually, she has a very narcissistic attitude, believing that she knows best, for everyone.

I would suggest, that homosexuals serve a very good purpose and possibly, fitting into the 'scheme of things' in our modern day world. One fact, at least in the present day, is, they cannot procreate. (Thank you, very much.) The last thing we need on this planet, is more people. A gay/lesbian couple can adopt, already born children, which is exceedingly needed.
Then again, they can also have children naturally, having the egg or sperm DNA come from one of them.

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 5:34 pm
I certainly wouldn't want a person like that around any children!

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 5:37 pm
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Wednesday February 27, 2013, 6:54 pm
Noted thanks

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 7:04 pm
You're welcome Aaron

Wednesday February 27, 2013, 7:19 pm
this reminds me of those black prom white prom issues...

Thursday February 28, 2013, 4:34 pm
Half the blame on her, half the blame on those "doofus"es who raised her with such a mentality

Thursday February 28, 2013, 5:14 pm
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Friday March 1, 2013, 4:15 am
The GBLT community shows that they are bullies every bit if not moreso than straight people. Just as GBLT want freedom of expression , straight ppl are entitled to that too. I dont care whether a person is bi or gay but i want to feel that they will not always be in my face about it. We need civil rights protections for STRAIGHT ppl in this country. I applaud her for having the courage to stick with her beliefs and i hope she sues the school

Friday March 1, 2013, 7:10 am
Definition of bullying (n)

bing.com · Bing Dictionary
bul·ly·ing
[ bllee ing ]

intimidation of weaker person: the process of intimidating or mistreating somebody weaker or in a more vulnerable situation

It is very hard to see how this definition can apply to heterosexuals as victims unless they chose to go somewhere like a gay bar where they became the minority and thus more vulnerable Jaime.