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Students Protest Board Decision to Ban Gay and Other Clubs

Protesting a ban on all extracurricular clubs enacted to get rid of student gay-straight alliances, hundreds of Salt Lake City, Utah high school students walked out of school Friday and marched on the state capitol. About 400 students gathered across the street from East High School shouting We will fight for our rights” and holding signs reading Separate Church and State” to denounce the school board’s 4-3 decision Tuesday to ban all non-academic clubs.

Protesters from East High heeded their principal’s request to end the protest because they felt they had gotten the recognition they sought, according to Vanessa Palme, member of the alliance that sought formal recognition at East.

The march occurred as the Utah Senate passed a bill that would prohibit teachers from condoning illegal conduct in schools, a measure Democratic opponents decry as a swipe at gay clubs and their faculty sponsors.

The march also turned out gay club opponents with signs reading SAFE- Students Against Faggots at East” and resulted in an accident when a protester walking out of West High school fell from a car hood and was pinned underneath the car.

Sources:

The Nando Times and Associated Press - February 23, 1996

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