October 5, 2009

CAMPBELL -- The Campbell-Savona Central School District is changing a controversial activity scheduled for this week's Spirit Week -- an activity the superintendent admits, probably wasn't the best idea.
     Every day this week, there's a different theme on the schedule at Campbell-Savona Junior/Senior High School – like “Dress Up Day” and “Crazy Hair Day.”  But parents objected to Thursday's theme: “Gender Bender Day.”
     “I was trying to get a hold of the school members to see what could be done -- if this could be stopped,” said Gary Chrisler, a Campbell-Savona parent.
     Chrisler's ninth grade son brought home this flier with events scheduled for Campbell-Savona's spirit week.  Chrisler was O.K. with most of the activities, except one: Gender Bender Day.  It’s a day where girls dress up like boys, and vice versa.
     “That is disturbing me highly,” said Chrisler.  “If we're all walking around with skirts on as guys, what does that portray?"
     Chrisler calls gender bender day an attempt at indoctrination.
     “I'm a taxpayer, and I don't believe we should be portraying this agenda in school,” he said.
     Superintendent Lynn Lyndes responded, “It wasn't made for any other reason than to just do something silly, as teenagers like to do…[It wasn’t] a real good idea in this day and age maybe, but it was their idea, no social comment there."
     Lyndes says only a couple of parents complained about Gender Bender Day, and early this morning, the district decided to change the theme to dressing up like twins.
     Students on the Homecoming Committee had the original idea for Gender Bender Day -- the committee has planned other events like a Homecoming parade, dance, and chicken barbeque.