T-shirt dispute brings ACLU

By MEG HUELSMAN, thedailyjournal.com June 14, 2006

	Michelle Geissel, 16, a Bridgeton High School junior, wears the T-shirt that put her school and the American Civil Liberties Union at odds.

BRIDGETON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey successfully advocated for a Bridgeton High School junior after school administrators refused to let the teen wear an "I © Lesbians" T-shirt.

"I was told I couldn't wear my shirt because it expresses my sexuality," 16-year-old Michelle Geissel said.  "The principal said it attracts too much attention."

According to ACLU attorney Jeanne LoCicero, Bridgeton High School violated Geissel's constitutionally protected right to free expression and discriminated against the teen by insisting she remove her shirt.

Geissel was told on two different occasions that she could not wear the shirt.  The first time, Assistant Principal Dorian Giorgio gave Geissel the option of either attending in-school suspension or returning home, according to the teen and the ACLU. Geissel chose to leave school.

Several days after the incident, Geissel noticed other students wearing "I © Boys" shirts, and another student wore an "I © Boys in Uniform" shirt.

"If it's OK for them to wear their shirts, it should be OK to wear mine," Geissel said.  "Making me change my shirt made me feel left out and unsupported."

Geissel wore the shirt a second time in May and said she was stopped by Assistant Principal Steve Lynch, who told her to change her shirt.

A letter from the ACLU to the school quoted Giorgio as saying the shirt was inappropriate because "there are some students that do not approve of the lifestyle you choose to live and it attracts too much attention."

On that occasion, Geissel changed her shirt and returned to class.  She then contacted the ACLU for support.

"It made me feel really bad -- it hurt -- when he told me my shirt was inappropriate," Geissel said.  "He made me feel like I'm different from others and that people don't accept me because I'm different."

On June 2, the ACLU sent Bridgeton High School Principal Lynn Williams a letter explaining how Geissel's rights were violated.  On Tuesday, Williams told Geissel she could continue to wear her shirt, but the school must contact her father, the teen said.

"Schools cannot sensor political speech," LoCicero said.  "It's a dangerous message to send to students that they can't wear shirts or slogans just because the school or other students don't like it."

If the school had continued to prohibit Geissel from wearing the shirt, the ACLU would have sued the school for violating the teen's constitutional rights and for discriminating against the student for her sexual orientation, LoCicero said.

Williams did not return several phone calls seeking comment Tuesday.