BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON - When teachers from Grant County High School met to select students for induction into the National Honor Society last spring, they considered the obvious sexual activity of Somer Chipman Hurston and Chasity Glass, school board attorney Suzanne Cassidy said Wednesday.
But using pregnancy to determine which students engage in sexual activity violates their civil rights, said Sara Mandelbaum, senior staff attorney for the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
During a hearing in U.S. District Court before Judge William O. Bertelsman, attorneys presented arguments about whether the young women should be inducted into the honor society.
The judge said he will make a ruling by the end of the year.
"Grant County is a small high school, and it's a small community of people that know a lot of things about you," Ms. Cassidy said. "We base the decision on what we know about that student at that time."
At the time, Mrs. Hurston, 17, was pregnant. She is now raising 6-month-old Cheyenne with her husband. Ms. Glass, 18, was raising her daughter, 19-month-old Shelby.
Both young women achieved qualifying grades and participated in extracurricular activities. Of the 33 students nominated for membership, Mrs. Hurston and Ms. Glass were the only two not inducted.
"The only way the defense can win this case is to show that outside of the pregnancies, there were independent criteria that worked against (the girls)," Ms. Mandelbaum said. "There seems to be a lot of hemming and hawing and avoidance of exactly what the issue was."
Ms. Cassidy said there were several issues, including tardiness to class and a lack of volunteer work that played into the selection. She added that the two might be eligible for membership this year, as seniors.
"You say the girls are involved in lots of activities. They've got the grades. What was the non-discriminatory basis?" Judge Bertelsman asked Ms. Cassidy. She again cited the tardiness and volunteer participation.
In trying cases about violations of civil rights and sexual discrimination, it is up to the defendants to show that a decision was made for reasons that are not discriminatory.
Ms. Mandelbaum wants Judge Bertelsman to let the young women into the honor society so they can take advantage of membership benefits: the recognition of being an outstanding student; the chance to compete for scholarships; the chance to participate in society activities.
Ms. Cassidy said forcing the school to admit them would send the wrong message. "The court should not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the school," she said.
Judge Bertelsman said the last thing he wants is to encourage schools to conduct inquiries into students' sexual lives. But after hearing Ms. Cassidy's arguments, he wondered how the school considered information about the young women's parental status. "Since it's not obvious that male students are sexually active, then the female students will suffer," the judge said.
Ms. Cassidy said anything the school learns about any student's sexual activity would be a factor for membership into the National Honor Society.
