Logan School District debates ban on pride flags
On Sept. 13, Logan City School District met to discuss the potential banning of pride flags in classrooms.
Andrea Sinfield, a parent representing a group of parents from the Hillcrest and Adams neighborhoods, spoke of her concerns that arose when she saw a pride flag with the words “Safe Space” on the door of her daughter’s kindergarten classroom.
“Seeing the flag in such a prominent place in my five-year-old’s learning area has caused me alarm, because neither I nor my child are ready to explain the complex ideas behind this symbol,” Sinfield said.
Sinfield expressed her concerns by bringing an easel and several pictures her child had drawn. All the drawings featured rainbows.
She explained that before her child saw the pride flag at school, she would color rainbows in arches, without the black and brown colors in the progress pride flag.
Andrea Sinfield displays images of rainbows drawn by her daughter. Photo by Kate Smith
Sinfield said after her daughter saw the flag, she started coloring in black and brown as a part of the rainbow, as well as drawing the colors in stripes instead of arches.
“She is subconsciously repeating what she is seeing, not even knowing what the symbol means,” Sinfield said.
Sinfield and Amy Wiser, another parent from the Hillcrest/Adams area, both spoke their concerns on creating a classroom that would not be neutral.
Wiser stated how she hoped her statement came across as loving. She said she believes schools should be a neutral, safe zone for students where their values aren’t so challenged.
“This is an extreme example, but what if I was in a white supremacy group, and I put my white supremacy flag up in the school — how would that make some of the kids feel?” Wiser asked.
Amy Anderson, a Logan High counselor, expressed a different view.
“The rainbow flag is not a Democrat flag, it’s not an independent flag, it’s not a Republican flag. A rainbow flag is not a political statement,” she said.
Jay Bates Domenech, a senior at Logan High and president of the Gay Straight Alliance club, expressed their thoughts on the possible ban.
“I know it can be seen as a political issue, but my existence is not political,” Domenech said. “I’m here; I’m queer. I think the simple use of a pride flag is not something that is going to affect anyone negatively.”
Domenech shared a personal experience about how seeing a pride flag in a classroom helped them feel safe enough to come out to a teacher.
“Right now, our LGBT students are not supported, and they don’t feel safe — physically or emotionally — to be able to come to school. Our rainbow flag helps an LGBT student know who is safe,” Anderson said.
Mary Morgan, a special education teacher at Logan High, said the flag relates more to identity than conflicting values.
“To me, personally, if you ban the pride flag, that’s basically taking away someone’s identity and not allowing them some representation,” Morgan said.
Another parent, Melanie Domenech Rodriguez, said, “Diversity and inclusion only means something if we back it up with action.”
After the meeting, Sinfield expressed concerns that she had come across as non-inclusive in her statement. She said that her speaking time limit prevented her from introducing another neutral program focused on inclusivity.
“I don’t know what it would look like, but coming up with something that’s unique to us to make sure that kids are taught inclusion — because that’s the problem, is that people in this group might feel left out, and I don’t want anyone to feel left out,” Sinfield said.
Shana Longhurst, district director of communications and public relations, commented on the board’s possible decisions.
“I think they’ll take their time. I think this is an issue we need to respect. We need to respect both sides of the issue, when it comes to these symbols in classrooms,” Longhurst said. “And it takes time to talk to each side of the fence on that one, because there are strong, personal experiences that are relevant and important to each group.”
-Jenny.Carpenter@usu.edu
Featured photo by Kate Smith
The messages did NOT come out as “loving” at all. To compare a pride flag to a white supremacy flag was horrifying. And sorry but I am guessing that woman with her knickers in a twist about her 5-year-old is LDS because she reeks of it. I would bet every dollar I have that they have NO problem explaining why they don’t drink coffee when it is the world’s most popular beverage. They can find a way to explain it to a 5-year-old…it’s called parenting. The hate wrapped up in a loving bow makes me want to barf.
Well now, look who is being discriminatory and hateful to a particular group of people. Inclusion means EVERYONE.
Great multi-media reporting! Thanks for covering this meeting.
Way to go Jay for speaking up. Every child should feel safe in the classroom and symbols of inclusion help achieve that goal. Making this a political issue hurts our children. I hope to live in a city where all identities are respected and valued. I hope Andrea can be educated and understand that what she is doing is incredibly destructive.
There is absolutely no equivalence between a pride flag and a “white supremacy flag” such as Ms. Wiser spoke of. The former represents inclusion and diversity, while the latter represents the opposite. And as for Ms. Sinfield’s daughter drawing rainbows, kids are influenced by everything they see–not just rainbows–but really, if a rainbow is the most worrisome art your kid creates, then she sounds like a happy, healthy kid!
Firstly, comparing the LGBTQ flag to a white supremacy flag is not an “extreme example,” it’s an extreme contrast, and insensitive at best. White supremacy is about hate and exclusion. The LGBTQ flag is about love and inclusion.
Secondly, your child is going to see the LGBTQ flag no matter where you go. You don’t have to go into a discussion about sexuality at 5, but you can still address the LGBTQ flag with respect.
Ironically, we’re talking about excluding a flag that represents inclusion of all peoples. In a community that tends to tout Christ-like love for ALL, we sure to make a lot of rules and prohibitions about people that are different from ourselves.
I am truly saddened that a flag and the words “Safe Space” somehow seem threatening to these parents. As others have said, this is in no way similar to displaying a white supremacy flag. This is not a political issue. It is simply a teacher letting their students know of their love for all their students and their many diverse and beautiful identities. I am beyond grateful for teachers like this. Life is hard enough for the marginalized— let’s not also make them the focus of unwarranted controversy. And please, celebrate all of the colors in your daughter’s masterpieces! Our kids learn by example. As their parents, teachers, and administrators, you can teach them how to love and accept others, to appreciate diversity— or you can teach them to marginalize, hate, exclude, bully, scorn, and disregard the feelings of those who are different. To those parents, teachers, administrators and community members who feel this is a controversial viewpoint, I plead with you to imagine having a child, sibling, or grandchild who identifies in some way with this flag. Then consider how they would feel about those flags being “outlawed”. A little empathy can go a long way!