Board exercises its backbone

Re: Gender Identity Show Rejected After wading through 72-column inches (headlines and photos included) of news and commentary, rife with he-said, she-said, they-said, no-one-said, I am left with one bottom-line question.

Who has the right to determine what is appropriate entertainment for students in the Niagara Catholic school system? Is it Jessica Carmichael, artistic director of the Carousel Players, or Rev. Paul MacNeil, school board chairman?

From her quoted statements one can only surmise Ms. Carmichael believes it is she. I say it is Rev. MacNeil.

I haven’t seen the play, but Rev. MacNeil reportedly did, and enough parents who also saw the play complained so that education director John Crocco took action.

But rather than reflect on her misjudgment in presenting a play deemed inappropriate for her audience, Ms. Carmichael launched a media offensive to press her case.

Not only do Rev. MacNeil and Mr. Crocco have the right to make such judgments, they have a duty to do so, both to the students in their care and the parents of those students. That right, by the way, is constitutionally protected.

A column accompanying the news report analyzed what the writer considers to be a PR fiasco for the board. For what possible reason would Rev. MacNeil or Mr. Crocco or anyone from the board try to explain to a hostile mainstream media — this columnist included — why this play has no business in a Catholic classroom? There is zero chance any such explanation would receive a fair airing, hence the tap-dancing and stonewalling.

The columnist advises the board to “bring on those crisis managers.” Wrong. The board doesn’t need crisis managers, it needs backbone, and so far it’s demonstrated it has it, even if it’s a bit wobbly.

Joe Hvilivitzky Chippawa