Top Stories

The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

HIV-AIDS-small
By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

foreclosure
By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

epa_logo
By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

Gull Lake Community Schools hires former state police trooper as superintendent

By Todd A. Heywood | 05.06.08 | 1:07 pm

The Gull Lake Community Schools system, where students have alleged significant harassment of gay students, has selected a new superintendent. Christopher Rundle, 58, will replace current Gull Lake chief Rich Ramsey.

Rundle is moving to take over this bedroom community school district in southwest Michigan from Harrison, Mich. He has been in education for 13 years, and served 22 years as a Michigan state trooper. In education, Rundle served as assistant principal and principal, as well as superintendent. He also taught high school English and served as an athletic director, as well as a football and basketball coach.

Comments

  • jnsosodef

    Ridiculous Alleged harassment, huh?

    I attended Gull Lake for four years and never saw one student harassed for being gay. What we have here is a few whining kids that didn’t get their own way and want to drag Gull Lake’s name through the mud.

    I am proud to be a Gull Lake graduate and I liked that school just the way it was before this alliance crap got started. I have quite a few gay friends at college. They are great people and I support their causes, for the most part, but why on earth is there a gay group in a high school to begin with? IT IS HIGH SCHOOL! Kids should be focusing on getting into a good college, not spending their time talking about social issues and crying “the principal won’t let us do this”.

    I don’t think I even knew one kid in high school that I even thought was gay. Things were going just fine until all of this crap started. If people are gay I have no problem with it. But it is not the school’s responsibility to console them regarding their sexual preference. These kids will have plenty of time in college to join whatever social group they want.

  • Todd A. Heywood

    hardly kids whining while you might have had a charming existence at Gull Lake during your formative years, I can assure you from speaking to parents and students at Gull Lake, that is not the experience of all of them.

    And frankly, the public statements on the Kalamazoo Gazette by the Gull Lake Community Schools principal several weeks back I think demonstrates the issues in the community. The principal told a columnist for the Gazette that he didn’t want foreign exchange students in the school because they took up seats for other, in district students. Forget that he is obligated under Michigan law to accept any student who lives in the district, if that is the attitude of the principal towards “foreign exchange students” which broaden the educational experience for everyone, just how open and supportive do you really think that school is towards less acceptable differences such as sexual orientation?

    It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee…

  • jnsosodef

    Ridiculous Alleged harassment, huh?

    I attended Gull Lake for four years and never saw one student harassed for being gay. What we have here is a few whining kids that didn't get their own way and want to drag Gull Lake's name through the mud.

    I am proud to be a Gull Lake graduate and I liked that school just the way it was before this alliance crap got started. I have quite a few gay friends at college. They are great people and I support their causes, for the most part, but why on earth is there a gay group in a high school to begin with? IT IS HIGH SCHOOL! Kids should be focusing on getting into a good college, not spending their time talking about social issues and crying “the principal won't let us do this”.

    I don't think I even knew one kid in high school that I even thought was gay. Things were going just fine until all of this crap started. If people are gay I have no problem with it. But it is not the school's responsibility to console them regarding their sexual preference. These kids will have plenty of time in college to join whatever social group they want.

  • LoRayne Apo-Joynt

    Introspection needed Have you ever actually asked your gay college friends how they felt about not having a social support network during high school, let alone public acceptance during their formative years?  Do you really know what it's like for them if you have been completely embraced by your family and society for what you are from birth? 

    You didn't even notice gay students around you — and they were there, since statistics show that at least 10% of the population is gay.  How do you think it feels to either not be noticed or to be so rejected by society that you cannot actually be who you are?

    And while you may think that high school is about education, it's also about exploration — how many students in this state made decisions about careers based not on what they did in school, but what they did apart from their curriculum?  Anybody who went from the debate club to law school, drama club to acting, high school sports to professional sports, 4-H to farming exemplify the benefits of this exploration.  A GSA organization that validates students who have been systematically marginalized may not actually help them make career choices, but it might help them feel safe enough to explore their options like the dominant majority around them.

  • Todd A. Heywood

    hardly kids whining while you might have had a charming existence at Gull Lake during your formative years, I can assure you from speaking to parents and students at Gull Lake, that is not the experience of all of them.

    And frankly, the public statements on the Kalamazoo Gazette by the Gull Lake Community Schools principal several weeks back I think demonstrates the issues in the community. The principal told a columnist for the Gazette that he didn't want foreign exchange students in the school because they took up seats for other, in district students. Forget that he is obligated under Michigan law to accept any student who lives in the district, if that is the attitude of the principal towards “foreign exchange students” which broaden the educational experience for everyone, just how open and supportive do you really think that school is towards less acceptable differences such as sexual orientation?

    It's time to wake up and smell the coffee…

  • LoRayne Apo-Joynt

    Introspection needed Have you ever actually asked your gay college friends how they felt about not having a social support network during high school, let alone public acceptance during their formative years?  Do you really know what it’s like for them if you have been completely embraced by your family and society for what you are from birth? 

    You didn’t even notice gay students around you — and they were there, since statistics show that at least 10% of the population is gay.  How do you think it feels to either not be noticed or to be so rejected by society that you cannot actually be who you are?

    And while you may think that high school is about education, it’s also about exploration — how many students in this state made decisions about careers based not on what they did in school, but what they did apart from their curriculum?  Anybody who went from the debate club to law school, drama club to acting, high school sports to professional sports, 4-H to farming exemplify the benefits of this exploration.  A GSA organization that validates students who have been systematically marginalized may not actually help them make career choices, but it might help them feel safe enough to explore their options like the dominant majority around them.

Categories & Tags: LGBT| |