By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
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Posted on 12/22/2003 1:07:43 PM PST by Syncro
December 22, 2003
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The winter break comes none too soon for Rohnert Park's Rancho Cotate High, where the school's new Conservative Club has gone from debating controversial issues to becoming one.
During the last week of school the club president said he twice received threats of physical violence from some students -- prompting the principal to suggest without success that the 17-year-old junior stay home for the rest of the week.
Forty of the school's faculty, meanwhile, signed a letter objecting to the actions of the club, including a flier the club produced urging students to "take a stand against the liberal traitors who call themselves teachers."
Club members, who number about 50 and meet once a week, counter that the educators are belittling them before other students and said two teachers failed to take action when their club leader was threatened -- an allegation the school principal rejected.
The club's faculty adviser, necessary for any campus club to continue, recently stepped down from that position after the club president distributed a newsletter without her authorization. That has placed the club's status in limbo.
All of which drew a simple response from students looking from the outside in on the controversy surrounding their school:
"We're tired of it," student body President Vanessa Nordin said.
The club, which may be unique among high schools on the North Coast, began this fall at the 2,000-student school after a group of students called for a forum to offer a balance to what they said were teacher opinions voiced from a liberal perspective.
At first Nordin (and others) said she admired the courage of students who wanted a club to express different views on campus. But she and five other student leaders said Friday the club's president, Tim Buehler, has repeatedly provoked controversy.
Buehler acknowledged he is provocative but denied his club promotes hate, as some students and teachers have suggested.
He said many of the school's teachers "simply don't want us here" and he likened his strategy in dealing with opponents to that of talk radio host Michael Savage, who has built a career on attacking liberals with vitriolic speech.
"We make it fun and we make it interesting and people want to come back," Buehler said.
With outside speakers from the National Rifle Association and the Eagle Forum, the club quickly drew attention, both from supporters and from opponents. But exactly what everyone is learning from the controversy is itself a matter of debate.
Teachers insist the club has accused them without any evidence of instruction that is biased against conservative views. And they objected to the club flier that urged students to report to a "conservative hot line" any "un-American comments" by teachers.
"To me that harkens back to McCarthyism," said business and computer teacher Trudy Nye.
Science teacher Mark Alton agreed and asked, "Who gets to decide if someone is a traitor or not?"
The club's members are equally insistent that teachers, whether consciously or not, are presenting a liberal world view and are using their role as instructors to criticize President Bush and other conservative leaders. They also said that during class time some teachers have belittled Buehler or other club members.
"My history teacher bashes on Tim," said club member Clay Curreri, a junior.
Gabby McGrath, a senior and a student government leader, said she has heard comments from a teacher that "weren't appropriate" about the club's members. But she and other student leaders said the club's participants are naive if they think they can say outrageous things and not provoke a response from teachers and students.
Senior class Vice President Jason Wang said students considered it denigrating when Buehler's newsletter included an article saying that "liberals welcome every Muhammad, Jamul and Jose who wishes to leave his third-world state and come to America -- mostly illegally -- to rip off our health care system, balkanize our language and destroy our political system."
This week Buehler said he was twice threatened by groups of students angry about the article, which dealt with illegal immigration. He said on each occasion he went to teachers for help but received none.
Last week, some of the 50 members of the club met with Principal Mitchell Carter to discuss concerns about the two incidents and the teacher responses. Carter later said he had investigated and found no evidence of inappropriate action by teachers.
"We take our students' well-being very seriously," Carter said. He said he earlier had suggested that Buehler stay home the remainder of the week in order to "let things settle down." Buehler declined.
The same day a San Bruno group, the European/American Issues Forum, said it had filed a formal complaint on Buehler's behalf with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, alleging the school was failing "to eliminate a hostile environment" against the club president.
For now the school is dark, beginning a two-week holiday break. But no one thinks the controversy will go away.
Under school rules, the club can't resume meetings until it finds another adviser. But Buehler insists the club will survive, even if it does so off campus.
Amanda Clarke, the club's vice president, acknowledged that "Tim's slogans can be a little outrageous." But she said the club has a worthwhile goal and she hopes eventually students with different views will be able to discuss their opinions in a respectful manner.
"I think people just need to calm down," Clarke said.
THE CLUB
The Conservative Club has about 50 members at the 2,000-student school.
It began this fall after some students called for a forum to balance what they perceived as the teachers' liberal bias.
You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or rdigitale@pressdemocrat.com.
I can't say anything about current Sonoma County teachers, but when I was in school many years ago, there was certainly a disproportionate number of liberals.
I cannot forget one Jr. High English teacher, who explained "trickle-down" economics to us. According to him, money is distributed (somehow) by government, and it is given to poor people by Democrats, and rich people by Republicans. < begin teacher idiocy> Poor people spend it, and that's what keeps the economy going. Rich people don't even need it (because they're rich), and they'll just keep it all for themselves. It's plain silly to think that when the rich people have all the money, they'll spontaneously give it to the poor people, and that's why trickle-down doesn't work.</teacher idiocy off> That little gem was "taught" me in the early 70s.
Actually they don't.
From the article:
"We take our students' well-being very seriously," Carter said. He said he earlier had suggested that Buehler stay home the remainder of the week in order to "let things settle down." Buehler declined.
The same day a San Bruno group, the European/American Issues Forum, said it had filed a formal complaint on Buehler's behalf with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, alleging the school was failing "to eliminate a hostile environment" against the club president.
For now the school is dark, beginning a two-week holiday break. But no one thinks the controversy will go away.
Under school rules, the club can't resume meetings until it finds another adviser. But Buehler insists the club will survive, even if it does so off campus. ___________________________________________________________
Asking Brehler to take the week off was a violation of his free speech. With that action the School was trying to silence the opposition to the teachers' liberal slant.
Concerning the bolded portion above, it will be interesting to see if the school is "diverse" enough to protect the civil rights of an American who is not a member of a "protected" minority.
It looks more like it's on their list of criterion for faculty awards.
I attended my wife's credential ceremony a couple of weeks ago for the education dept of a "North Bay College". The student speaker was no doubt selected to give the address because it seemed she was a model student to her leftist professors. Her talk consisted of the words "peace" and "social justice" and also referenced Ghandi. I also know that "muliculturalism," "diversity," and "social justice" are very much a part of much of the cirriculum of that education dept. I'm not suprised about these students complaining about leftist teachers, because that's mostly what the schools turn out.
(No, the kid did not get in trouble-he was only there to play football and we won the states year in and year out).
Because this kid is not only being threatened by gangs of bullies BUT he's being harassed by the faculty. Simply for asking why the LAW isn't being upheld.
Sickening.
I am going to format your comments so they are easier to read.
From spitfire525:
I am a member of this Conservative Club and have witnessed first hand the hate in this school. It is not so much the club causing the hate, it is the teachers.
Mark Alton (A biology teacher ) has told students to take a stand against the conservative wing-nuts. Last time I checked politics, or encouraging students to rise against Conservative issues is not biology.
Teachers have taken it upon themselves to teach only one side of the issue, and they pound it into our heads that this is right, and thats wrong. I have heard teachers spend a whole day saying what our country has done wrong, and why we should be ashamed of our country.
He really made me feel bad to be an American, but after I thought about it, I am damn proud to be here.
Ever read By the Lake of Sleeping Children, really helps you see how bad things could be. We have had racism, civil war, and bad presidential decisions, but we are still the best country on this earth.
Organizations such as the ACLU and the NAACP are tearing us apart, they make it an 'us-them' thing. Where was the ACLU when the club president, Tim Buehler, was threatened?
l tell you, they had their back turned because he is a white heterosexual male conservative. They select whom ever they want to help, and it will certainly never be us. We have never instigated, nor harbor hate.
Kids and it seems adults alike can not distinguish the difference between racism and conservative.
The Catamount (the school newspaper) did a article that said they think illegal aliens should have drivers licenses, an obvious liberal viewpoint, and the school allows it. But when we published an article saying no they should not, it was 'racist'.
We expose another side of the issue and it is racist. You may have also heard that our paper had the line 'the liberals accept and Jamal, Muhammad, and Jose into our country' but had someone else said the Conservatives are a bunch of Bob, John, and Joe's, that is still stereotyping but everyones OK with it. If you isolate a line or two out of the newsletter you do not know what we are, our first paragraph explains it all.
Most of us are not conservative and I realize most will not know what we are until late college, but one thing is for certain, if we are not taught two sides of the issue, we will only be what we are taught.
The bias has to stop and we have to be taught critical thinking. We must see there is no White, Black, Asian, or Hispanic, we are only American.
I'm not saying do not take pride in our ancestry, but to not look at each others skin color, accent, or family, but to see him as an American. This is not an Us vs Them thing like the ACLU has so bluntly put it, but it is an American thing.
Thanks a lot spitfire.
I will comment on this tomorrow (oops it is tomorrow...) and hopefully we can get together before the Feb thing and talk things out. Your comments are grate!
Grate!
Here is a press release from the Eagle Forum of California State President
Press Release: Santa Rosa, CA January 12, 2004
Update on Conservative Club of Rancho Cotate High School, Phyllis Schlafly Challenges Liberal Teachers to Debate; the Superintendent Faults the Principal
By Orlean Koehle, Eagle Forum of California State President
Phyllis Schlafly's name appeared on the front page of the Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA, Friday, January 9, with the heading "Phyllis Schlafly Joins Controversy," telling of Phyllis' challenge to debate the liberal teachers who have been giving seventeen-year old Tim Bueler, President and founder of the Conservative Club, the most criticism and opposition.
Phyllis will be coming to Santa Rosa to speak at a state all-day Eagle Forum Conference on February 7. She will arrive the afternoon of the 6th and would be willing to debate that evening. (If a teacher can be found to rise to the challenge.)
The article states that (because of national news coverage that Tim and the Conservative Club has received on talk shows and even an article in the Washington Times) thousands of e-mails from conservatives across the nation have been sent to the principal of Rancho Cotate's e-mail address offering support and aid for Tim but expressing outrage over the principal and two other teachers who refused to give Tim protection when he asked for their help when Latino students were threatening Tim.
The students were upset with an article that Tim had written against illegal aliens coming into our country and hurting the economy and health system of our own state and nation.
Even the superintendent of the Cotati-Rohnert Park School District, Michael Watenpaugh, agreed with the e-mails that the principal, Mitchell Carter, was wrong telling Tim to go home instead of offering him protection at the school.
The article goes on to say that the teachers and administrators at the school (in spite of all the opposition Tim has received) continue to say that there is no liberal bias at the school. I beg to differ.
As a conservative substitute teacher who has taught school throughout Sonoma County and as the State President of Eagle Forum of California, I was asked to come and speak for Tim's club last November on the very subject of "Bias in Our Schools."
For any teacher or administrator to deny that such a bias exists shows that they either have blinders on or the liberal viewpoint has so permeated public school and college campuses, it is no longer recognized as a bias.
Many fellow teachers have told me that they have to be "closet Republicans." If they ever dare to express their conservative views, they come under attack by fellow teachers or administrators or are given the cold shoulder and silent treatment.
They are no longer regarded as "team players or consensus builders." Some are afraid of even losing their jobs.
The fact that it is considered so unusual to have a conservative club on a high school campus shows there is a bias. The fact that Tim Bueler has been threatened by fellow students and granted no protection by the principal and teachers whom he asked for assistance shows there is a bias.
However, the greatest evidence of that bias is a three-page article written by a science teacher, Mark Alton, who came to hear my presentation and then wrote a "rebuttal" of my talk, which he gave to every teacher on campus.
(A teacher gave a copy to Tim Bueler who gave it to me.) Mr. Alton stated that "Eagle Forum is a vestige of the old Cold War right-wing - a God-fearing, anti-communist crowd," (which is actually all true) but then he insinuates that we are so outmoded, we just don't know what is going on today.
He said, "Historical scholarship and research has determined that quite a lot of what used to be 'facts' about American history just did not happen, e.g. Patrick Henry never said, 'Give me liberty or give me death.'" He goes on to say, "The Eagle Forum does not want to admit any of these real facts - just more liberal, anti-patriotic bias to them. She wants you to learn (memorize) these myths so you will be educated (indoctrinated) with her jingoistic flag-waving, then accept it without question as the truth."
Wow! Thank you for saying that, Mr. Alton. That was exactly one of the points I made in my talk about how some teachers today are using their classrooms to teach a biased, revised history that puts down our founding fathers, our form of government, our president (if he is a Republican). Even waving the flag and patriotism are considered old-fashioned and something to scoff at.
While I found Tim Bueler and the students of the Conservative Club to be polite, courteous, clean-cut, refreshing youth who share my same passion and love for our country, Mr. Alton labels the Conservative Club as "reactionary" and insinuates that it is similar to Hitler's Nazism.
He also attacks radio talk show hosts Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh as the source of where the Conservative Club is getting their "mistruths."
I am actually thankful for Mr. Alton's essay for it is more evidence of the liberal bias that does exist in our public schools and gives more reason to believe in the need for a conservative club on every campus so another viewpoint can be expressed.
Mr. Alton states in his essay that he believes in "the freedom to debate." That is why we are specifically asking for him to rise to the challenge to debate Phyllis Schlafly. So far we have received no reply from him or any other teacher.
Perhaps he is just a little intimidated by Phyllis and the fact that she has a masters in political science from Harvard, is an attorney, writes a weekly syndicated column, has a weekly radio show, has written many historical books, and has actually helped create American history by leading the defeat of the ERA back in the 1970's.
Mr. Alton or any teacher at Rancho Cotati High School, who think you really know the facts of true American history, will you rise to the challenge to debate Mrs. Schlafly?
Thanks spitfire for the new post.
Do you know how FR mail works?
I will send you another message and you will see at the top of your screen in blue "you have mail"
Click on that. I'll see you soon
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