Current:Home > MyGay actor’s speech back on at Pennsylvania school after cancellation over his ‘lifestyle’-LoTradeCoin
Gay actor’s speech back on at Pennsylvania school after cancellation over his ‘lifestyle’
View Date:2024-12-23 19:38:41
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A gay actor’s speech that was canceled over his “lifestyle” is back on at a Pennsylvania school after residents spoke out.
The Cumberland Valley School District’s board voted 5-4 Wednesday night to allow children’s book author Maulik Pancholy, who is gay, to speak against bullying during a May 22 assembly at Mountain View Middle School. The board voted after hearing from residents, including more than a dozen students.
The board on April 15 unanimously canceled Pancholy’s talk after a board member cited concerns about what he described as the actor’s activism and “lifestyle.” Some board members also noted the district enacted a policy about not hosting overtly political events after it was criticized for hosting a Donald Trump rally during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Some community members said the cancellation was ill-advised and sent a hurtful message, especially to the LGBTQ+ community, and Superintendent Mark Blanchard and other district leaders sent a letter to the board, faculty and staff asserting that Pancholy’s speech should have been allowed.
The education officials said they were not given “a real opportunity” by the board to answer questions or provide guidance about the event, which they said was aimed at reinforcing the importance of treating all people equally.
Pancholy, 48, is an award-winning actor, including for his roles on the television shows “30 Rock” and “Weeds,” and as the voice of Baljeet in the Disney animated series, “Phineas & Ferb.” He also has written children’s books and in 2014 was named by then-President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, where he co-founded a campaign to combat AAPI bullying.
Pancholy’s appearance was scheduled by the school’s leadership team, which each year selects an author to present a “unique educational experience for students,” according to the district.
At the April 15 meeting, school board members said they did not know what Pancholy would talk about, but one member said he didn’t “want to run the risk” of what it might entail.
“If you research this individual, he labels himself as an activist,” Bud Shaffner said, according to Pennlive. “He is proud of his lifestyle, and I don’t think that should be imposed upon our students, at any age.”
The Associated Press sent an email to Pancholy’s publicists Thursday seeking comment on the board’s decision to reverse itself.
In a statement posted on social media after the initial board vote, Pancholy had said that as a middle school student he never saw himself represented in stories, and that books featuring South Asian-American or LGBTQ+ characters “didn’t exist.” When he started writing his own novels years later, he was still hard-pressed to find those stories, he said.
“It’s why I wrote my books in the first place,” Pancholy wrote. “Because representation matters.”
Pancholy said his school visits are meant “to let all young people know that they’re seen. To let them know that they matter.”
veryGood! (76)
Related
- Old Navy's Early Black Friday Deals Start at $1.97 -- Get Holiday-Ready Sweaters, Skirts, Puffers & More
- Yes, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Mayor of Rome Are Fighting Over Emily in Paris
- Taylor Swift donates $5 million toward hurricane relief efforts
- Wholesale inflation remained cool last month in latest sign that price pressures are slowing
- Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
- Reese Witherspoon Reacts to Daughter Ava Phillippe's Message on Her Mental Health Journey
- Winter in October? Snow recorded on New Hampshire's Mount Washington
- Security guard gets no additional jail time in man’s Detroit-area mall death
- Judge weighs the merits of a lawsuit alleging ‘Real Housewives’ creators abused a cast member
- Jets new coach Jeff Ulbrich puts Todd Downing, not Nathaniel Hackett, in charge of offense
Ranking
- Let Demi Moore’s Iconic Fashion Give You More Inspiration
- Priscilla Presley’s Ex-Boyfriend Michael Edwards Denies Molesting Lisa Marie Presley When She Was 10
- Paramore's Hayley Williams Gets Candid on PTSD and Depression for World Mental Health Day
- Yankees get past Royals to reach ALCS, seeking first World Series since 2009
- Bill on school bathroom use by transgender students clears Ohio Legislature, heads to governor
- An Update From Stanley Tucci on the Devil Wears Prada Sequel? Groundbreaking
- How to Really Pronounce Florence Pugh's Last Name
- Chicago man charged with assaulting two officers during protests of Netanyahu address to Congress
Recommendation
-
At age 44, Rich Hill's baseball odyssey continues - now with Team USA
-
49ers run over Seahawks on 'Thursday Night Football': Highlights
-
Pregnant Influencer Campbell “Pookie” Puckett and Husband Jett Puckett Reveal Sex of Their First Baby
-
Opinion: It's more than just an NFL lawsuit settlement – Jim Trotter actually won
-
Review: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024
-
Opinion: It's more than just an NFL lawsuit settlement – Jim Trotter actually won
-
Asylum-seeker to film star: Guinean’s unusual journey highlights France’s arguments over immigration
-
Apple's insider leaks reveal the potential for a new AI fix