I was intrigued by the recent controversy over a decision to cut a gay scene from Bel Air High School's production of "Almost, Maine," which was ultimately reversed after the American Civil Liberties Union complained.
If you missed the story on our website, Harford County school officials forced the high school's drama company to pull the scene, in which two young men realize they are attracted to each other. (The show, which opened Thursday, doesn't include any physical contact between them or graphic language.)
The ACLU wrote a letter condemning the decision, and school officials actually changed their mind.
The situation reminded me of another controversy at my high school, a public school in Baltimore County.
It was Spirit Week (in which every day has a different clothing theme). One of the Spirit days was scheduled to be Cross-Dress Day.
As far as I know, students didn't think twice about this, and I didn't hear anyone discuss it or express any qualms leading up to Spirit Week.
But the day before Cross-Dress Day was set to go on, rumors started swirling that some parents had complained about it.
At dismissal time, right as students were rushing out the door, a hasty announcement came over the intercom: Cross-Dress Day was now canceled and replaced with another theme (I think Hawaiian Shirt Day).
I was confused by the sudden announcement, and was pretty sure plenty of my classmates hadn't even heard it.
The next day, a lot of girls came to school in ties, mustaches or other male attire. Several guys also came wearing dresses (mostly cheerleader uniforms).
The girls were left alone, while the guys were sent to the office, where they were ordered to change or sent home.
Students weren't exactly happy with how Cross-Dress Day was handled; I remember several long columns in the student paper outraged about the administration's response.
But I don't recall school officials ever apologizing or even responding to student complaints. The issue was never mentioned again.
To me, this felt like school officials cared more about pleasing some parents than about treating students fairly — not to mention reinforcing the stereotype that it is more OK for a girl to wear a tie than a boy to wear a dress.
It also makes me wonder, today, if things would have been different if students had actually gone to a national organization like the ACLU instead of just writing newspaper columns.
I realize gender and sexuality issues are always complicated for a public school to negotiate, and I totally respect people who disapprove of same-sex relationships or less traditional clothing choices.
But no one is forced to watch a production of "Almost, Maine," just like no one is forced to wear gender-bending clothes on Cross-Dress Day.
The appropriateness of any work of art in a public school setting is always open to interpretation. Is "Grease" more vulgar than "The Canterbury Tales" or "Romeo and Juliet"? Maybe sex is OK if it's in old English that most people don't understand anyway.
At any rate, I was impressed to hear Bel Air High students actually got the ACLU involved and were able to get the administration to admit it was wrong.
I think it was the high school student in me, more than the adult, who was happy to hear school officials admit they simply messed up.