Society Correctly Defends Standards
The Spokesman-Review’s Our Generation writers debate a National Honor Society decision to reject pregnant teens.
Somer Chipman and Chastity Glass of Williamstown, Ky., had outstanding grade-point averages at the end of their junior year in high school, yet were the only applicants out of 33 who were denied entry into the National Honor Society.
After asking for an explanation, they say they were told that they had not measured up to the criteria for admission.
Further inquiry determined that the reason for their denial was that they had become pregnant.
However, a federal court ordered the National Honor Society to admit the two young women for the rest of their senior year, while they wait for their case to come to trial. Suzanne Cassidy, lawyer for the school district and for the committee that selects society members, maintains that the district did not discriminate against the two students when it denied them admission to the Honor Society.
I agree. The district made the right decision. The National Honor Society has a certain moral standard to uphold, and by letting in girls who have become pregnant, it would violate precisely what the organization stands for.
No one can argue about whether high school students getting pregnant out of wedlock is moral or even acceptable. It’s always been considered just plain wrong. Of course I’m not determining what’s wrong or immoral. The Bible spells it out pretty clearly. Even for those who don’t believe in the Bible, society has a set of core values and everyone is responsible for adhering to them.
By following those values, whether biblical or societal, a person is considered honorable - exactly what National Honor Society prides itself on.
If it were to admit people who have clearly broken our society’s moral code, the National Honor Society would be lowering its standards.
The girls were represented by Sara L. Mandelbaum of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project. She said, “This decision sets a very important precedent because it gives teeth to the underenforced federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination and marital status.”
The refusal to let the girls enter the National Honor Society is not based on sex or pregnancy discrimination, it’s based on the fact they don’t measure up to the standards necessary for admission. In the same way, people are refused because they have low GPAs - they just simply don’t meet the requirements.
There would be sex discrimination if the fathers were admitted but not the mothers. This, however, is not the case. The society was only exercising its right to admit students selectively.
The National Honor Society is keeping high standards that make it more than just a club based on good grades.
This sidebar appeared with the story: ABOUT TEEN VIEWS The Spokesman-Review’s Our Generation Advisory Board meets monthly, debating a topic of interest to teens. Today, two members present different opinions on this month’s topic.