Embedded Files
An article in the February 1989 issue of the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Newsletter discussing the controversy.
1988: Class is Cancelled
1988: Class is Cancelled
In December 1988, John Nicoll, the superintendent of Newport-Mesa Unified School District, banned gay speakers from attending Corona del Mar High School. The speakers were members of an annual panel, held by psychology teacher Mike Marino, which served to expose students to alternative lifestyles and provide a forum for discussion. The banning of gay speakers sparked a battle between Marino's supporters and anti-LGBTQ+ groups whose complaints had resulted in the ban.
Marino and the Resistance
The decision to restrict speakers from attending Corona del Mar High was met with immediate resistance by Mike Marino, his students, and community members.
Standing firm in the face of the administration, a student petition led by one Doug Schulein gained 750 signatures in favor of allowing queer speakers. As the tides began to turn, both sides looked to larger forces for support.
Mike Marino in the 1989 Corona del Mar High School yearbook, second row to the far left.
NACE and ACLU Collide
NACE and ACLU Collide
Those involved in the psychology class controversy saw major support on both sides. But how did they stack up?
National Association of Christian Educators (NACE)
The groups opposed to the gay speakers' presence at the high school went by many names such as Citizens for Excellence in Education and Parents Against Objectionable Education in Newport-Mesa. Although publicly they claimed to be independent of any larger organizations, a 1989 article in the Daily Pilot revealed this to be false. In actuality, the groups had received support from NACE in organizing their efforts and preparing to speak before the Newport-Mesa school board.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
In their fight against the school administration, Marino and his supporters gained crucial support from the ACLU. In a groundbreaking move, the organization threatened to sue the school district for restricting the speakers, completely changing the tides of the conflict.
The Panel Emerges
The Panel Emerges
Following the threat of a lawsuit by the ACLU, a special panel was convened to consider reinstating the panel. This special session ultimately judged that Marino's class followed professional psychological interpretation, and the panel was reinstated. Shortly after, Superintendent John Nicoll revised his ban on the speakers and on March 18, 1989 nearly 140 students attended the talk.
While students who participated in the panel found the event productive, some parents voiced their concerns that the speakers had not adequately discussed necessary perspectives on homosexuality amidst the HIV/AIDS Crisis.
An article from the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Newsletter in April 1989 pointing to opposition parents' connections to NACE.
The Aftermath of the Panel
The Aftermath of the Panel
In an article from The Orange County Register published a day after the panel, attendees weighed in on the panel's effectiveness. Parents from opposition groups such as Parents Against Objectionable Education in Newport-Mesa were particularly critical in their remarks. The following are excerpts from student and parent interviews.
In an article from The Orange County Register published a day after the panel, attendees weighed in on the panel's effectiveness. Parents from opposition groups such as Parents Against Objectionable Education in Newport-Mesa were particularly critical in their remarks. The following are excerpts from student and parent interviews.
Queer Lifestyles
Queer Lifestyles
Willie Way & Bill Davenport (CDMHS Students)
Both students were quite critical of opposition parents and their disagreements with the panel. Way explained in his interview how he defied his own parents to attend:
"But I told her, 'We have freedom of religion and they have the freedom to speak'...I wish more parents would just show up and sit in on class. When they come just because it is controversial, it is kind of sad."
Davenport similarly expressed his frustration with parents, noting the absurdity of their accusations of 'brainwashing':
"Do you know how hard that would be? There is no way I am going to go out and start liking guys...There is no way a person coming in and saying what they feel is going to change my belief system. It would be as hard to change a straight person into a gay as it is for a gay person to be straight."
Dangerous 'Deathstyles'
Dangerous 'Deathstyles'
Pat Eikermann (Parents Against Objectionable Education member) & Pam Macedo
Eikermann overall disagreed with the panel, especially the inclusion of notable activist Denise Penn who was a member of the pro-LGBTQ+ activist group Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. During her interview, Eikermann claimed that:
"It was ugly to me...I felt it was a real emotional rather than educational promotion of the gay lifestyle...There were no real experts. Just because you are homosexual doesn't make you an expert."
Similar to Eikermann, Macedo also argued that the panel was unsatisfactory:
"Only the positive side is presented...Is homosexuality a lifestyle or a `deathstyle' in view of AIDS?"
Audience members at an Orange Unified School District board meeting protest anti-LGBTQ board members and call for their removal, September 2023.
School Board Showdowns:
School Board Showdowns:
The Legacy of the 1989 Controversy
The Legacy of the 1989 Controversy
While the the 1989 CDMHS controversy is seldom discussed today, the events are still connected to recent alarming trends in public education. Since 2020, there has been a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ groups consistently harassing school boards around the nation into banning books, lessons, and even teachers who discuss queer life and experiences.
Groups like Moms for Liberty actively petition school boards to remove queer adjacent content, with the organization recently sprouting a chapter in Orange County.
However, the fight for queer inclusion in the classroom is far from over. Just last year, parents of students enrolled in Orange Unified School District successfully voted out anti-LGBTQ+ board members from their posts. Communities around the nation continue to fight for their students' rights to a fair and inclusive education free from constraints based in hatred.
Acknowledgements
This site was constructed as part of a final project for UC Irvine's Orange County Queer History course, HIST 12. Professor Haleigh Marcello provided wonderful instruction on the subject, and I am indebted to her for providing me with several archival materials necessary to this project.
For further inquiries about this site, please feel free to contact me: sebastnc@uci.edu
Thank you for viewing this site.
Sources
Sources
1. Several images from this site are sourced from Corona del Mar High School's 1989 yearbook. The full book can be viewed here: https://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Corona-Del-Mar-High-School/4182731501?page=1
2. Davis, Donna. “Parents object to gay speakers at high school.” The Orange County Register. December 23, 1988. Santa Ana, CA.
3. Puig, Linda C. “Ban on gay speakers upsets students – District.” The Orange County Register. January 25, 1989. Santa Ana, CA.
4. Times Staff & Wire Service Reports. “Local: OC School Ends Gay Program.” Los Angeles Times. January 25, 1989. Los Angeles, CA.
5. Unknown. “Understanding’s the Casualty in Corona del Mar Class Dispute.” Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Newsletter 29. February 1989. Santa Ana, CA.
6. Mercer, Elliot C. “Banning Gay Speakers at Corona del Mar High School.” Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1989. Los Angeles, CA.
7. Unknown. “Dispute Continues in Corona del Mar.” Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Newsletter 30. April 1989. Santa Ana, CA.
8. Laviola, Karen. “Corona del Mar classes to hear sexuality panel.” The Orange County Register. May 18, 1989. Santa Ana, CA.
9. Laviola, Karen. “Gay panelists stir little controversy at high.” The Orange County Register. May 19, 1989. Santa Ana, CA.
10. Unknown. “Dispute Winding Down in Corona del Mar.” Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Newsletter 31. June 1989. Santa Ana, CA.
11. Blume, Howard. “2 Orange School Board Conservatives Ousted by Recalls with LGBTQ+ Policies at the Center.” Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024, www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-15/orange-unified-school-board-members-who-embraced-culture-wars-are-ousted.
Page updated
Report abuse