“They were speaking for us and they didn’t hear a lot of what was said,” said senior Lonnie Medley.

Morgantown area students are protesting a decision by the superintendent to remove pride flags and symbols of LGBTQ acceptance from schools.

mountainstatespotlight.org
These WV students are fighting against a classroom pride flag ban
Pride flags were recently banned in Morgantown area schools. These students are fighting back.

Some great reporting by my fellow
@Report4America
corps member
@iankarbal
about Monongalia County’s pride flag ban. Reading the piece, I could tell he really took time to center the people who will be most impacted — LGBTQ students:

mountainstatespotlight.org
These WV students are fighting against a classroom pride flag ban
Pride flags were recently banned in Morgantown area schools. These students are fighting back.

NEWS

A West Virginia county banned pride flags in the classroom. These students are fighting back

Monongalia County schools removed pride flags from classrooms, saying they violated a policy against political material. But many students say they feel less safe in classrooms and the move is an attack on their identity.

by Ian Karbal
September 30th, 2022

MORGANTOWN — It was the second week of school at Morgantown High, and junior Olive Tapia couldn’t shake the sense that something was wrong. ... “I noticed that one of my teacher’s classrooms was a little empty,” Tapia said. “I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was missing.”

After class, a friend pointed it out: a number of pride flags and stickers promoting LGBTQ acceptance had been taken down following new guidance from Monongalia County School Superintendent Eddie Campbell. Displaying rainbow flags in classrooms, he said, violated the school district’s policy against showing political material in classrooms. ... “I was really disappointed, because I felt like we’ve had such great progress,” Tapia said. “To have such a big step back was really upsetting. I can’t really find the words for it.”

Though the decision to remove the flags was made entirely by adults, a student movement led by LGBTQ Morgantown High students has responded loudly. They’ve confronted the superintendent and Board of Education, held protests and walked out of classes en masse.

The backlash in Monongalia County comes as displays of LGBTQ acceptance in schools have drawn increased hostility in West Virginia, including a rainbow-flag mural in Randolph County that was painted over last year. According to the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, roughly a quarter of the free speech complaints they’ve received this year are about LGBTQ issues in schools.

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The Monongalia County Board of Education. Photo by Ian Karbal

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Morgantown High school students Olive Tapia, Aaron Reedy {the president of the school’s SAGA club}, Sam Hunley and Finn Monteith watch the Board of Education meeting. Photo by Ian Karbal.

{snip}

IAN KARBAL
iankarbal@mountainstatespotlight.org
Ian Karbal is a Report for America corps member, and the state government watchdog reporter for Mountain State Spotlight. More by Ian Karbal