Thank you to Kate Murray and her parents for taking the lead on this. Kate, you are a role
Model for my Daughter.
C
Carol Thompson
8 years ago
Freedom to think and speak.....
E
Erin Boucher
8 years ago
Would “I stand for Women’s Health” be banned? It’s the same thing. Good for you Kate!
G
Grace McMorrow
8 years ago
Sacred Heart encouraged me to be an educated, involved and socially aware participant of the world. I was inspired to figure out my beliefs and what I stand for, and to then stand up for them proudly. I am disappointed to hear that the place that cultivated my sense of empowerment as a woman in the world is denying a clearly informed young woman to do the same. She is supporting a non-profit organization that provides aid to people in need of healthcare and lifts up women, something Sacred Heart's mission is supposedly built on. I hope that Sacred Heart can reevaluate their intentions and work to create an environment that truly cultivates deep discussions of all points of view, not just the ones the administration is comfortable with.
A
Annamari Mikkola
8 years ago
Nurturing independent thinkers should be one of the most important goals for every educational institution regardless of the religious leanings of the school.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
Keep on keepin on, Kate!
W
wendy hill
8 years ago
Caroline burch: How beautifully and well said. You warm my heart for the young woman you've become. xMrs Hill
E
Elizabeth Clancey
8 years ago
If CSH administrators are reading these, please consider changing your decision. This is an embarrassment. It’s 2018. - a 2005 alum
L
Lorelei Ohagan
8 years ago
Educated women support the education of other women and women’s rights are human rights. Catholic schools will become obsolete if they choose to focus on this topic and the freedom of opinion.
C
Caroline Burch
8 years ago
Sacred Heart, you confuse me. In my four years, I witnessed many pro-life stickers and pro life t-shirts. No one batted an eyelash. Obama 2012 stickers adorn laptops. No one cares. Apple stickers appear on computers. No requests for removal. Kate places a Planned Parenthood sticker on a laptop and she is being told she will be expelled if she doesn’t remove it.
If a male teacher finds this laptop sticker distracting, then he must find enough self control to ignore it, just as I ignored the many pro-life stickers and shirts that were worn around school throughout my four years at Sacred Heart. How are pro-life stickers acceptable when a planned parenthood sticker is not? This is an obvious double standard, as Sacred Heart is not banning all issues of politics, but only those which go against the Catholic Church.
Sacred Heart, are you being truthful in your motivations? Are you acting as good Christians? Are you rewarding Sacred Heart girls who think for themselves and take positions on world issues? Are you the progressive school you claim to be, nurturing the journalists, scientists and leaders of the future?
Sacred Heart always encouraged us to value social awareness and impel it into action. Sacred Heart always prided itself on empowering young women. Planned Parenthood is an incredible non-profit organization that provides affordable healthcare, including cancer screenings and mental health screenings, to both men and women. Kate’s decision to place a Planned Parenthood sticker on her laptop shows that Sacred Heart is teaching her, just like it taught me. To think like the girl I was and the woman I was becoming. To act for the greater good of people and to be a good Christian.
What happened to the school which demanded that we push boundaries to change the world into a better place?
Sacred Heart, please show the world you are the school I believed you to be.
M
Michael Bucci
8 years ago
Great cause Kate
L
Lucy Alderson-Smith
8 years ago
Sacred Heart Greenwich gave me a priceless and life-shaping experience that I will forever hold fondly in my heart. However, one issue I had always grappled with during my time at Sacred Heart was the annual "Pro-Life" Chapel, which infringed on my personal space with God to impose a political message that was in alignment with the schools values. If, as Pam Hayes' email states, the school "discourage(s) the display of stickers, posters, buttons or banners supporting or opposing political candidates, positions or organizations on clothing, computers, lockers or anywhere else on our campus" how is it that this chapel, which not only directly supports a certain position but also takes that position and deems it “correct” in the eyes of God, has continue to run for so many years? There is an inconsistency in this statement issued by Pam Hayes. This pro-life chapel offended me for years, but I never took action because I was aware that the school valued the principles of freedom of speech and expression, and thus my own views would also be supported and considered. This was my belief of the school's principles until two days ago when I heard about what happened to Kate Murray. I stand with Kate because, if it is okay to put a group of students into a chapel and tell them the importance of “pro-life” values, then it is also more than okay for a student to display a sticker expressing the importance of her personal values on her own laptop.
C
Cathy Burch
8 years ago
Planned Parenthood provides access to affordable healthcare for men and women. Pam Hayes, please find the error in your ways and reverse course. CSH is not, and should not become, a school which silences its students' views. I stand with Kate.
C
Celia Flinn
8 years ago
As a Sacred Heart 91st street alumna, I express my disapproval of the Greenwich administration to expel Kate. I echo the comments of others that Kate is embodying the goals, like wise freedom and social awareness which impels to action, and should not be punished for it.
J
Judith Himes
8 years ago
I am not a Sacred Heart alumna but my daughter is a graduate of Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart and my granddaughter attends Sacred Heart Greenwich. My experience as a Sacred Heart parent was exceptional and unique. Unique because Sacred Heart schools are all guided by a commitment not only to respect intellectual values, but also to be aware of issues of social justice, to encourage diversity and embrace difference, and to cultivate "personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom." Where is that commitment in Kate's story?
Sacred Heart Greenwich seems to be going backwards in an era of extreme complexity where more than ever our schools need "an atmosphere of wise freedom." Where were the steps to create an opportunity in or outside of the classroom to discuss the difficult issues as well as the positive work Planned Parenthood provides women? Did anyone give consideration to Kate's first amendment rights? And how could anyone in the administration possible consider that expulsion from school is the appropriate threat to a young student who has a single Planned Parenthood sticker on her personal computer? Indeed, I stand with Kate.
J
John ceena
8 years ago
Pam Hayes and the board better think about bringing this school to the 21st century or face irrelevancy and rejection for their partisan censorship and biases. I stand with Kate.
Good for you Kate!
Totally agree! Double standards!
Thank you to Kate Murray and her parents for taking the lead on this. Kate, you are a role Model for my Daughter.
Freedom to think and speak.....
Would “I stand for Women’s Health” be banned? It’s the same thing. Good for you Kate!
Sacred Heart encouraged me to be an educated, involved and socially aware participant of the world. I was inspired to figure out my beliefs and what I stand for, and to then stand up for them proudly. I am disappointed to hear that the place that cultivated my sense of empowerment as a woman in the world is denying a clearly informed young woman to do the same. She is supporting a non-profit organization that provides aid to people in need of healthcare and lifts up women, something Sacred Heart's mission is supposedly built on. I hope that Sacred Heart can reevaluate their intentions and work to create an environment that truly cultivates deep discussions of all points of view, not just the ones the administration is comfortable with.
Nurturing independent thinkers should be one of the most important goals for every educational institution regardless of the religious leanings of the school.
Keep on keepin on, Kate!
Caroline burch: How beautifully and well said. You warm my heart for the young woman you've become. xMrs Hill
If CSH administrators are reading these, please consider changing your decision. This is an embarrassment. It’s 2018. - a 2005 alum
Educated women support the education of other women and women’s rights are human rights. Catholic schools will become obsolete if they choose to focus on this topic and the freedom of opinion.
Sacred Heart, you confuse me. In my four years, I witnessed many pro-life stickers and pro life t-shirts. No one batted an eyelash. Obama 2012 stickers adorn laptops. No one cares. Apple stickers appear on computers. No requests for removal. Kate places a Planned Parenthood sticker on a laptop and she is being told she will be expelled if she doesn’t remove it. If a male teacher finds this laptop sticker distracting, then he must find enough self control to ignore it, just as I ignored the many pro-life stickers and shirts that were worn around school throughout my four years at Sacred Heart. How are pro-life stickers acceptable when a planned parenthood sticker is not? This is an obvious double standard, as Sacred Heart is not banning all issues of politics, but only those which go against the Catholic Church. Sacred Heart, are you being truthful in your motivations? Are you acting as good Christians? Are you rewarding Sacred Heart girls who think for themselves and take positions on world issues? Are you the progressive school you claim to be, nurturing the journalists, scientists and leaders of the future? Sacred Heart always encouraged us to value social awareness and impel it into action. Sacred Heart always prided itself on empowering young women. Planned Parenthood is an incredible non-profit organization that provides affordable healthcare, including cancer screenings and mental health screenings, to both men and women. Kate’s decision to place a Planned Parenthood sticker on her laptop shows that Sacred Heart is teaching her, just like it taught me. To think like the girl I was and the woman I was becoming. To act for the greater good of people and to be a good Christian. What happened to the school which demanded that we push boundaries to change the world into a better place? Sacred Heart, please show the world you are the school I believed you to be.
Great cause Kate
Sacred Heart Greenwich gave me a priceless and life-shaping experience that I will forever hold fondly in my heart. However, one issue I had always grappled with during my time at Sacred Heart was the annual "Pro-Life" Chapel, which infringed on my personal space with God to impose a political message that was in alignment with the schools values. If, as Pam Hayes' email states, the school "discourage(s) the display of stickers, posters, buttons or banners supporting or opposing political candidates, positions or organizations on clothing, computers, lockers or anywhere else on our campus" how is it that this chapel, which not only directly supports a certain position but also takes that position and deems it “correct” in the eyes of God, has continue to run for so many years? There is an inconsistency in this statement issued by Pam Hayes. This pro-life chapel offended me for years, but I never took action because I was aware that the school valued the principles of freedom of speech and expression, and thus my own views would also be supported and considered. This was my belief of the school's principles until two days ago when I heard about what happened to Kate Murray. I stand with Kate because, if it is okay to put a group of students into a chapel and tell them the importance of “pro-life” values, then it is also more than okay for a student to display a sticker expressing the importance of her personal values on her own laptop.
Planned Parenthood provides access to affordable healthcare for men and women. Pam Hayes, please find the error in your ways and reverse course. CSH is not, and should not become, a school which silences its students' views. I stand with Kate.
As a Sacred Heart 91st street alumna, I express my disapproval of the Greenwich administration to expel Kate. I echo the comments of others that Kate is embodying the goals, like wise freedom and social awareness which impels to action, and should not be punished for it.
I am not a Sacred Heart alumna but my daughter is a graduate of Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart and my granddaughter attends Sacred Heart Greenwich. My experience as a Sacred Heart parent was exceptional and unique. Unique because Sacred Heart schools are all guided by a commitment not only to respect intellectual values, but also to be aware of issues of social justice, to encourage diversity and embrace difference, and to cultivate "personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom." Where is that commitment in Kate's story? Sacred Heart Greenwich seems to be going backwards in an era of extreme complexity where more than ever our schools need "an atmosphere of wise freedom." Where were the steps to create an opportunity in or outside of the classroom to discuss the difficult issues as well as the positive work Planned Parenthood provides women? Did anyone give consideration to Kate's first amendment rights? And how could anyone in the administration possible consider that expulsion from school is the appropriate threat to a young student who has a single Planned Parenthood sticker on her personal computer? Indeed, I stand with Kate.
Pam Hayes and the board better think about bringing this school to the 21st century or face irrelevancy and rejection for their partisan censorship and biases. I stand with Kate.
standing with kate!
Shame on sacred heart!