Local group responds after sign at Dartmouth High School causes outrage, controversy

A local group has issued a response after a sigh at an area high school made national news.

According to the South Coast LGBTQ Network, Dartmouth High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance put up a bulletin board that said, “Have a Gay Summer.”

The story has gained national attention after parent Lynne Turner called the sign inappropriate, accusing the school of pushing “gay ideology” on students, and labeling it as “grooming.” She demanded that the display be removed and that the school apologize to parents and students.

Turner’s social media post was shared across the country by conservative accounts and commentators, including Libs of TikTok, with critics arguing that public schools should not promote specific sexual identities or activist messaging. Some described it as indoctrination or inappropriate for a classroom setting.

The principal of the school states that the board will stay.

South Coast LGBTQ Network issued the following in response on Thursday:

“We shared last week that one affirming adult reduces suicide attempts among LGBTQ youth by 40%. One principal who said the board stays. One advisor who helped students make it. One bulletin board that says you belong here. That is not grooming. That is lifesaving.

“We applaud and thank Principal O’Shea, the staff advisor, and all teachers and educators like them.

“We stand with those students. Their message was not a controversy. It was joy. It was belonging. It was exactly the affirmation every young person deserves on the way out the door for summer.

“You are not the problem. You are the point. Have a gay summer, Dartmouth.”