The following letter appeared in the Oct. 20 issue of Mount Si High School’s student newspaper Cat Tales in response to a homecoming skit based on the story of “Adam and Steve.” The letter was written by the Mount Si Gay Straight Alliance, a club that works to promote acceptance and equality.

“While Mr. [Adam] Rupert’s moonwalk and Jon Larson’s ‘aesthetically disturbing’ performance may forever stay burned in the memories of Mount Si’s student body, the [Oct. 19] assembly by no means left everyone laughing at the end.

“Although most eyes may have been glued to the scantily clad seniors below, a quick but careful glance into the stands showed that there were many students asking the same question: ‘Is this really happening?’ As much as Mount Si likes to promote itself as an accepting and nondiscriminatory institution, yesterday’s skits prove that this image is clearly a facade.

“The seniors’ skit especially, while scoring laughs from the vast majority of students and staff [with its portrayal of stereotypical gay male caricatures], was appalling, offensive and highly discriminatory on multiple levels. The attempt to win the glory of the first-place prize interfered with better judgment. The seniors’ poor decision to incorporate the tired and bigoted concept of Adam and Steve only served to perpetuate the false stereotypes society (and certainly this school) have regarding gay males. Simply put, how many gay, lesbian and questioning teenagers were in the stands feeling that they were being singled out, bashed and all alone in a crowd of 1,400? Statistics indicate that approximately 10 percent (or around 140 kids) were out there feeling that they were the butt of the jokes – that’s a lot of hurt feelings.

“For years, Mount Si has worked to endorse itself as ‘No Place for Hate.’ Clearly, there’s quite a bit of work left to be done.”

Kit McCormick

Gay Straight Alliance

advisor

Mount Si High School

Snoqualmie