Hope4Hoey initiative rallies support for Conestoga alumnus
Page 7 Conestoga High School, Berwyn PA, 19312
Volume 74 No. 2
November 1, 2023
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‘this book is gay’ submitted for review
Parents speak out against library material, allege religious discrimination
Aren Framil/The SPOKE
On the shelf: The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is currently reviewing Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay.” At both the Sept. 26 and Oct. 23 school board meetings, several parents shared concerns regarding alleged discriminatory language in the book.
By Maya Shah and Juliana Yao, Co-T/E Life Editor and Co-Sports Editor During the Sept. 26 regular school board meeting, a group of nine Tredyffrin/Easttown parents and residents shared their concerns about alleged discriminatory language toward religious groups in a book in the Conestoga library. As a result, the book in question, the first edition of “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson, is currently under review by the school administration.
Three residents furthered their complaints at the Oct. 23 regular school board meeting, again urging the school board to condemn the alleged prejudice contained in the book. At that same meeting, two community members who did not comment at the first meeting spoke in favor of keeping the book in the library, arguing that LGBTQ+ representation in literature can positively impact students. Published in the U.S. in June 2015, “This Book is Gay’’ is a young adult, nonfiction work about LGBTQ+ identity and exploration. The book discusses themes such as coming out, LGBTQ+ stereotypes and sexual education.
Dawson includes excerpts from religious texts and explains how to refute their use in arguments against the LGBTQ+ community, most notably in the section “The Gays versus Religion.” Specific contested subsections include “How to Argue with Muslims’’ and “How to Argue with Christians.” As district resident Dr. Dalia El-Sherif stated at the Oct. 23 school board meeting, “members of the Muslim community have filed a complaint about the religious hate, bias and discrimination in one of the books in the school library” with the school board prior to the Sept. 26 school board meeting.
District resident Bogdan Rosca condemned the “Haterz Gon’ Hate” chapter, in which Dawson describes some religious people as hateful. “My religious beliefs give credence to the Torah and the Bible, and for this, I am labeled a hater,” Rosca said at the Sept. 26 school board meeting. “The author labels my son a hater, too. (Dawson) calls these parents and their children haters as well because they follow the Quran.” As outlined in district Regulation 1122, “Complaints Regarding the District,” in the case of resident objections regarding instructional materi-
als, TESD administration first attempts to resolve complaints at the building level. According to school board president Dr. Roberta Hotinski, Conestoga’s administration is still processing this complaint at the building level. Should the issue not reach a conclusion, Regulation 1122 says that a select committee will examine the content of the material, ultimately presenting its findings to district Superintendent Dr. Richard Gusick to make a final decision. El-Sherif, the resident who spoke first at the September board meeting, believes that
Regulation 1122 does not apply in this situation. “This material promotes hate, bias and discrimination. Therefore, administrative Regulation 1122 does not apply, as administrative Regulation 1122 does not address hate or discrimination and is focused on complaints against school personnel or instructional material only,” El-Sherif said during the public comment period of the Sept. 26 meeting. Both Gusick and Hotinski insisted that Regulation 1122 outlined the best method through which to handle the situation and that the book is still under review.
Gusick, Hotinski and Conestoga principal Dr. Amy Meisinger declined The Spoke’s requests for comment due to the ongoing administrative review process. “As a board, we are concerned about being sensitive to members of every group in our community,” Hotinski said in response to El-Sherif ’s comments at the September meeting. “We’ve heard your concerns, and we’re taking them seriously.” El-Sherif and Rosca did not return The Spoke’s requests for comment. Continued on page 3.
SEPTA plans bus route overhaul Rowan Chetty
Co-Multimedia Editor
Lily Chen/The SPOKE
Changing curriculum: Juniors Ayan Kumar (right) and Raycer Verrecchia (left) research possible ways they could revise the elementary school family life curriculum. They began this initiative in June 2023 after seeing outdated information in their younger siblings’ family life packets.
Juniors reevaluate family life curriculum Lily Chen
Design Editor Juniors Ayan Kumar and Raycer Verrecchia are working with Dr. Patrick Gately, TESD curriculum supervisor for English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education, to consider possible revisions to the district’s elementary-level family life curriculum. Kumar and Verrecchia both have siblings in fifth grade. Last year, in fourth grade, they participated in the elementary school family life curriculum. In fourth grade family life classes, students learn about HIV and AIDS, which is required by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, along with human reproductive systems, puberty and hygiene. While helping his sister with her homework, Verrecchia noticed that some information in the district-issued family life packets was incomplete or inaccurate. The packet stated there are three HIV drug classes despite the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) currently recognizing eight. Verrecchia reached out to Kumar, who noticed similar issues, and the two have been working to resolve the inaccuracies since. “Something we noticed when (our siblings) were bringing back the family life curriculum of HIV and AIDS was that the statistics were completely inaccurate,” Kumar said. “We decided that we wanted to make a change to make sure that these children are getting accurate statistics and information so that our younger generation can thrive and get the right education that they deserve.” Kumar and Verrecchia initially had plans for a complete curriculum overhaul. However, Gately said that this was unnecessary. He suggested that they provide a student perspective on the current curriculum and suggest possible revisions. Gately currently facilitates their research and gathers feedback from teachers.
Gately is grateful for Kumar’s and Verrecchia’s help in providing a new perspective on the current curriculum. “Beyond revisions, to make a major overhaul or to fundamentally change the curriculum would take a district committee and that would be a major process,” Gately said. “But, (Kumar and Verrecchia) have been really helpful in terms of the student perspective — they’ve also taken a look at the curriculum, gone back and reviewed it and tried to indicate places where, as students, they feel like it could use revising, where information could be more up to date, (where) information could be more engaging for students.” The information that Kumar and Verrecchia are looking over is not solely statistical. Inaccurate material includes outdated treatment plans for suppressing the HIV virus, missing symptoms and general gender stereotypes.
“Raycer and I went through the entire curriculum for elementary, middle school and high school health, fitness and family life,” Kumar said. “We believe some teachings could be improved to better (fit) societal norms because they were kind of outdated in the way they displayed stereotypes — it felt like they were enforcing the stereotypes. The way we approached that was offering a different way that can make (the material) more comprehensive.” Kumar and Verrecchia hope to show that students are passionate about learning up-to-date and accurate material. “In the future, I hope that the curriculum will be changed and that students will be getting accurate information,” Kumar said. “Over the next couple of years, I hope that students will continue to do revisions that will make the education be as perfect as possible, and thus, allow students to get the best education.”
Since 1964, SEPTA bus routes largely remained the same. Now, to increase ridership and efficiency, SEPTA is enacting several changes in a plan known as the Bus Revolution. SEPTA began drafting the plan approximately two years ago, with full implementation expected by early to mid 2024. SEPTA put this project into action to address the decline in bus ridership in the years leading up to the pandemic. “We haven’t redesigned the bus network in six decades,” said SEPTA Public Information Manager John Golden. “When the bus network as we know it was implemented, it was all based on old trolley routes, and so we decided to do (these improvements) based on customer feedback
and (to) just (make) the system much more reliable.” SEPTA plans to streamline its routes by adding more frequent stops in high demand areas so that buses will pick up passengers every 15 minutes at these locations. It plans to add 10 more of these frequent stops to Philadelphia and the surrounding area’s routes. “We estimate an additional 1.1 million people throughout the entire Philadelphia network will be within a 10-minute walk of a frequent bus service,” Golden said. “To illustrate it, more than 99% of bus riders within a five-minute walk of a bus route will still be within a five-minute walk of a bus route.” While SEPTA aims to add more consistency to popular routes, some of the older routes that have low ridership will be removed. To
streamline routes and create a more reliable system for passengers, SEPTA plans to decrease the total number of routes from 125 to 106. Sophomore Daniel Loza, who often rides SEPTA buses, has experienced some of the current inconsistencies in the bus schedules. “Often (SEPTA buses) are really delayed, and sometimes they just don’t come and they don’t tell you it’s canceled,” Loza said. “It is a bit frustrating sometimes.” Although minimal route changes are planned for the T/E area, SEPTA expects passengers to experience an improvement in service. Loza look forward to the changes. “I don’t have a car,” Loza said. “So if I need to get somewhere, then I can do it without my parents driving me or relying on anyone else.”
Rowan Chetty/The SPOKE
Road to revolution: A SEPTA bus drives along its route to pick up passengers. SEPTA has planned to streamline its routes by removing low traffic stops and increasing the frequency of bus pick-ups at popular stops.