As Pastor Ken Hutcherson began his speech about overcoming his own
prejudices—at a January 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly at
Snoqualmie’s Mount Si High School—he was met with boos. The loud
protests didn’t come from agitated students, but rather from several
teachers, alarmed and offended by the irony of Hutcherson’s speech on
equality.
Hutcherson has been a fierce opponent of gay rights in Washington
State, holding antigay rallies and pressuring companies like Microsoft
to do away with same-sex partner benefits. So, when he showed up to
speak about prejudice, it came as a bit of a shock to Kit McCormick, an
English teacher and advisor to Mount Si’s Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA)
club.
“I’m astonished [Hutcherson] was brought to the school to talk about
equality,” McCormick told The Stranger. “This is totally going
to help me teach irony in my English class.”
Following the assembly, students at Mount Si crowded together in the
school’s hallways voicing their displeasure with, surprisingly, the
teachers. Several students The Stranger spoke with were
outraged at Hutcherson’s treatment. However, some students, including
Lindsey, a 17-year-old GSA member, are happy that Hutcherson was
shouted down. “Is anyone going to listen to us if we write a nice
letter to the principal?” she asked.
Hutcherson has asked for the school to hold a forum to discuss the
incident, but so far no plans have been made. 
I am pleased that there are teachers, such as Kit McCormick, who are not gun shy about voicing their opinions related to the rights of gay people. Mr. Hutcherson’s discriminatory position should not be tolerated! Ms. Beatríz Bravo, LCSW