Tolerance is urged

Corona del Mar High School students crammed into a classroom to ask questions like “Do you believe it’s possible to be lesbian or gay and become straight?” and “Do you think being a lesbian is a sin?” as part of the school’s annual Diversity Day on Thursday.

“How many of you have heard of the gay agenda, raise your hands,” said Denny Spargo, a member of the gay-rights group PFLAG, who visited Thursday to field questions from students on gay issues.

A few students raised their hands, the only sound a cough in the back of the room and a few chairs shuffling on the linoleum floor.

“That’s a fear tactic. It doesn’t exist,” Spargo went on.

In its eighth year, the Diversity Day program at Corona del Mar brings speakers on everything from religious diversity to disabilities to the school. This year’s event happened to fall in the wake of a national uproar over Corona del Mar’s alleged cancellation and subsequent rescheduling of the school production of the musical “Rent” last month after a drama teacher claimed the school principal canceled the musical because of portrayals of homosexuality in the script.

The ACLU filed a 36-page lawsuit against the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Corona del Mar school officials last week, detailing what ACLU attorneys call “a school culture gone awry,” where “homophobic slurs are routinely used with impunity.”

While students also can attend sessions on living with HIV and watch a play about a school shooting, the PFLAG session is one of the most popular sessions each year at the school, organizers said.

“This year it’s especially important because of what happened with ‘Rent,’” said Emmy Dahl, 18, a senior at Corona del Mar, who helped organize the day of speakers with the school’s Peer Assistance Leadership Program. “The ‘Rent’ thing was basically a misunderstanding that went overboard. We’re not homophobic here. We’ve been doing this for eight years.”

Organizers hope the event will teach tolerance to students.

“We get all sorts of comments back from students after Diversity Day, like, ‘I didn’t know how it felt to be treated differently,’ or ‘I didn’t know about this particular religion and their beliefs,” Kathy Hath said, a counselor at Corona del Mar and advisor for the Peer Assistance Leadership Program.

“It’s nice to know we’re making a difference on campus,” George Kennedy said, a 15-year-old sophomore who helped organized the event.

“What everyone has said about our campus being homophobic isn’t true. It’s not really like that,” George said.

In the gymnasium at Corona del Mar on Thursday, seventh- and eighth-graders played a game where they tried to guess what kind of music a student liked or what religion they were by looking at their picture as part of Diversity Day.

“What did you learn from this today?” junior Brianna Ngo asked the restless students as lunchtime neared.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” one student replied.

Not all students were convinced.

“Everyone here just thinks this is all a big joke,” said 13-year-old Xenia Roberts, an eighth-grader with purple hair. “If you’re rich and have designer clothes at this school, you will be popular.”

Reporter BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].