Pubdate: Thu, 08 Dec 2005 Source: Providence Journal, The (RI) Copyright: 2005 The Providence Journal Company Contact: http://www.projo.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352 Author: Katie Warchut, staff writer NINTH GRADERS'S FIELD TRIP TO SEE RENT SPURS PROTEST Some Parents And School Board Members Say The Movie's Themes Of Drug Addiction And Homosexuality Are Inappropriate And Lack Educational Value GLOCESTER -- A planned field trip for Ponaganset High School ninth-graders on Monday to see the movie Rent has sparked a protest by some parents and School Committee members who challenge its content -- drug addiction and homosexuality -- and its educational value. The movie, rated PG-13, is based on one of the longest running shows on Broadway, which won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony awards, among other honors. It depicts young artists on New York's East Side, struggling to be accepted and to succeed, while enduring poverty, illness and AIDS. Teachers say the field trip will encourage classroom discussions about diversity and tolerance, said principal Joseph P. Maruszczak. The lessons are interdisciplinary, using English, social studies, and even science -- to study the myths and realities of HIV, he said. At Tuesday night's School Committee meeting, Cochairwoman Donna Mansolillo said exposing 14- and 15-year-olds to the themes should be up to parents, and not schools. "The lifestyles depicted in this movie are not the majority, not the lifestyles of 99.9 percent of the kids that live in these two towns," she said. She passed out a review of the movie, which she found on http://www.pluggedinonline.com, a Web site associated with Focus on the Family, a Christian organization that aims to preserve family values. Rent is built around an in-your-face glorification of homosexuality and lesbianism, the review says. Maruszczak believes this is the root of the problem. Students have been shown violent images in movies such as Bowling for Columbine, but sexuality seems to cause problems. "I believe this has become a hot-point issue because of human sexuality, and gay characters in the film," he said. "Some people are very uncomfortable with that." Mansolillo pointed out that there is also "injection of drugs, promiscuity and prostitution." She said three or four parents contacted her with concerns about the trip, which history teacher Ben Fillo is organizing. One of them, Denise Dionne, spoke at the meeting. She has seen the play, which she calls "graphic, crude and vulgar." She said she has friends who are homosexuals, and she believes it's offensive even to them, because "they're not drug addicts or promiscuous. They make positive contributions to society." "They're taking a lifestyle and degrading it in such a way that there's no positive message to be taken away from it," Dionne said. "I believe we can educate our children and expose them to differences in a much better way." Cochairman Gary King said: "the curriculum value is not there. I'm not charged with the social education of students. I have to protect the integrity of students in our district." King said that just by hearing the title, he would have thought the movie was about "the trials and tribulations of what it takes to pay rent after high school." When he found out more details, he said "I was shocked." His fellow committee member Kelly Hunter was also shocked, but for different reasons. She was the only member who had a son going on the trip and said she was stunned that there was a controversy at all. "I just don't get what the problem is," she said. "If you don't want your kid to go, don't sign the slip." The permission slip explained how the trip would fulfill certain standards, she said, and by seeing it in a classroom setting, students will be able to talk about the issues. "They have to understand there are other parts of society than what they see in town," she said. Hunter also does not think that School Committee members should be in the position of approving curriculum content, and that it should be left to teachers and administrators. Maruszczak said he saw the movie and did not find anything objectionable. He said 75 of the 89 kids involved are going to see the movie at Providence Place mall. He said it's dangerous if a few parents who disapprove impose that will on the rest of the students. It's the School Committee's job to approve overnight and out-of-state field trips, but not day trips, he said. The committee can voice their opinions, but their primary role is to set policy, he said. The committee did not vote on the issue Tuesday because it was not on the agenda. Though Mansolillo said she hoped schools Supt. Mario F. Cirillo would intervene, Maruszczak said the field trip is still on. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin