| Replaced_Texan |
10-06-2005 01:12 PM |
Via The Pink Dome there is an Austin American Statemen article about reactions to the short story Brokeback Mountain by Anne Proulx, which was taught in a 12th grade English class. The most interesting part of the article was this:
Quote:
But at St. Andrew's Episcopal School, the tale of "Brokeback Mountain," a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx, didn't end there. It spilled off the pages into the school's boardrooms and onto religious message boards, dividing parents in the tightknit community and ultimately leading to the school returning a $3 million gift to one of its biggest donors.
This month, the St. Andrew's Board of Trustees officially released Cary McNair and his family from their $3 million pledge to the school's capital campaign after McNair objected to the use of "Brokeback Mountain" as reading material in a 12th-grade English class.
"Brokeback Mountain" tells the story of two male ranch hands who fall in love and have a homosexual relationship over many years. The story contains details of gay sex acts. It appeared first in the Oct. 13, 1997, issue of The New Yorker magazine, then as part of a collection of Proulx's short stories, titled "Close Range."
"St. Andrew's has a policy not to accept conditional gifts, whether it's $5 or $500,000. When the McNair family looked at their gift in a conditional manner, then the school could not accept it," said Bill Miller, who was asked by St. Andrew's to serve as its spokesman for this story.
Miller, a public relations consultant, has three children at St. Andrew's, and his wife, Catherine, serves on the board of trustees.
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The controversy has spread to Episcopalian messageboards all over the country. I applaud the school for sticking to its guns and giving back the cash if the guy (who, incidently, is the son of Houston Texans owner Bob McNair) complained so much. |
