DEERFIELD, Ill. (STNG) - Deerfield High School is again under fire by a North Shore Christian group because the school offers the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes" to college-bound seniors.
North Shore Student Advocacy called for School District 113 Superintendent George Fornero, Deerfield High School Principal Sue Hobson and all involved teachers to resign or be fired by the School Board.
The group claimed a victory when, after its complaints, the school district made "Angels" an "opt in" book rather than required reading in the Advanced Placement English literature course. Parents and students have to opt in to read that book as well as “The Plague.”
Last year, "Angels in America" author Tony Kushner talked to the class about the play, how he wrote it and produced it.
The story is about two couples whose relationships are disintegrating. It is set in the United States in the 1980s against a backdrop of greed, conservatism, sexual politics and the discovery of AIDS.
Lora Sue Hauser, executive director of NSSA, complained that the book is replete with profanity, overt racism, an explicit description of a sex act involving Mother Theresa and vivid depictions of sodomy.
"After almost 15 years of school advocacy and reviewing many objectionable books and curricula, I have never seen anything this vulgar and harmful to students," Hauser said.
She said NSSA also talked to the Lake County state's attorney's office and claimed that office concurred that the play violated the state's obscenity statute prohibiting adults from "distributing harmful material to minors.”
State's Attorney Michael Waller disputed that claim, saying it did not violate any criminal statute.
Carol Votsmier, school spokeswoman, said there was a problem with NSSA extracting passages of the play out to illustrate vulgarity.
The book and the class curricula were approved by the Advanced Placement College Board, she added. The students who "opted in" for the class will not be reading it until April. The class is limited to seniors, and 51 signed up to take it, but not all have made their choice of one or both books.
Votsmier said the play also has been taught in Highland Park High School.
The school district and NSSA clashed last year over a freshman orientation session where students talked about bullying and other issues and included gay students relating their experience in high school.
Matt Barber, director of cultural issues with Concerned Women for America, said his jaw dropped when he read the book.
"This isn't a First Amendment issue. This is about school officials betraying the community trust. Heads need to roll here. Assigning this racist, pornographic smut to high school kids is nothing short of child abuse," Barber said.
Votsmier said no one has been asked to resign, and there have been no voluntary resignations. She said the teacher of the course feels the students have the maturity and thoughtfulness to read this book and learn from it.
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