Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Monday, March 20, 2006
Viroqua cancels Diversity Day again
The Diversity Day event set at Viroqua High School for March 23 has been cancelled.
The Vernon County Broadcaster was informed of this via a letter to the editor on Friday that stated: "The Diversity Day program, set for Thursday March 23, at Viroqua High School, has been canceled due to complications arising from legal considerations. The planning committee arrived at this decision to avoid compromising the original intent of the program."
The letter was sent by Diversity Day organizers Gregg Attleson, Renee Baker, Darlene Buhr and Ellen Byers.
Diversity Day is an event held every two years at the school. It includes speakers representing a number of different racial, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
In 2004, about 400 people signed a petition asking that speakers discussing gay, lesbian and transgender issues not be included in the event. The school board cancelled the event, however, after a change in the board's make-up following the spring election, it was reinstated. Diversity Day was eventually held with a homosexual couple participating as speakers. Approximately 60 students were reported as absent for the day, apparently held out of school by parents who disagreed with the event.
For more about this story, check out Tuesday’s La Crosse Tribune
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