Article: PA Protest Against School District Refusing to Show Obama Speech

In the suburbs of Philadelphia, the Central Bucks School District in Bucks county, is refusing to show the Obama Speech. The decision didn't even go to the school board. And the school district, one of the wealthiest in the state, is using the excuse that they can't manage it technologically.

Local residents are outraged and called a last minute protest on Labor day at the county seat. About 100 protesters showed up.

photos by rob kall.

Little Carolyn Ansin sends the school district her message

Carolyn Ansin's father, Det Ansin, commented, "It was an appropriate response to an obscene act. To the press, the district initially justified their actions as a response to numerous angry phone calls. If they received enough angry phone calls, would they stop teaching evolution?"

In sleepy Doylestown PA, a 100 person demonstration is a rare event

Joe Frederick, a longtime resident of the school district, is outraged.

I asked a few of the protesters to write up their thoughts:

Allen McQuarrie wrote:

A student was at the vigil. He had in hand a speech made by George Bush #41 he'd heard was presented in school, unfettered and uncensored. He showed it to our local Intell reporter at the scene. He also had a copy of Obama's speech and could not figure out why one was allowed to be shown and the other censored by the Superintendent. He is asking questions about democracy I cannot answer.

Students from the school district's two high schools wrote the following letter to the School Superintendent-- Dr. Laws:

Dear Dr. Laws,

On behalf of the CB East Young Democrats, and CB West students interested in reviving the CB West Young Democrats, we ask you to provide all Central Bucks students - if they are so motivated - with the opportunity to watch the President's Back-To-School speech to the nation's students on Tuesday, September 8th.

We feel that it would be disingenuous of the district to deny any student who wishes to see the President's speech the means to do so. Politics aside � ��" Barack Obama is our President; the speech is clearly directed at students; the failure to recognize that right-wing caterwauling is anything less than political is willful ignorance.

We understand you are in a delicate position � ��" forced to adhere to the demands of your tax-paying constituents, our parents and the parents of Republican stalwarts. We are not asking you to make listening to the address mandatory; we are asking you to make it available to classes who are so inclined to stream the address.

We propose an alternative solution. In defense of the District's internet connection (the reason cited for not streaming the video live to all classrooms) - every school makes streaming the speech an option in gymnasiums in Elementary Schools and auditoriums in Middle and High Schools. This would eliminate the problem of overwhelming the internet connection, as well as prevent teachers from having to interrupt their teaching schedules. Students would have the option of leaving class to watch the speech - and would of course be required to make up any missed class work on their own time.

Surely the District has the capability to stream and project the video � ��" at the very least in the three High Schools?

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).