Students join voices to protest school firing

Nearly 600 students saw past Charlene Genther's sexual orientation. But Marian High School in Bloomfield Township couldn't.
"(She) loved all of us and put her heart and soul into Marian, and this is how they repay her … by firing her," Stephanie MacDonald wrote on the open forum on Facebook's Web site protesting Genther's recent dismissal.
Former and present students are outraged that Genther, who held the position of Campus Safety Officer for six years, was axed from the school because she's a lesbian.
For some, that would be the end of the story. But for countless students it's just the beginning. Students are dogging Marian, starting petitions and organizing walk-outs to fight for a woman who would go as far as leaving encouraging notes on students' cars.
These young adults are ignoring Marian's breeding of discrimination and only see Genther as a kind, gentle woman – not a lesbian. Their bold progressive behavior sets an example for all of us, but mostly the Catholics who haven't caught up to the new millennium. Students are the voice of Genther. A voice that needs to be heard. A voice that dares to be followed.
The outpour of support for Mama G, as students called her because she went above and beyond her call of duty, comes from a new wave of Catholics. These students, who decided to speak out about their affection for the 55-year-old woman, won't stand for a school that discriminates against anyone. And that's pretty damn bold.
"They taught us to be tolerant of diversity," MacDonald said.
Pedophile priests molested parishioners' children for years. Mama G's only crime: she's a lesbian. At the end of the day she goes home to a woman, but that didn't matter to the students who knew she was more than her sexual orientation.
The real anchor: the school knew Genther was partnered with another woman, whom she brought to school events. Was the school's administration, or the archbishop, scared word would get out? Well, it has – and it's highlighted the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church. It's the same type of hypocrisy that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" slogan breeds.
And, as one student pointed out, Genther isn't the only lesbian at Marian High School. But, now that the school has released Genther, other LGBT people will continue to bask in the shadows. At least the new wave of Catholics can see past someone's sexual orientation. And that's why, through online petitions and networking Web sites, they'll continue to stand up for a woman they believe wasn't defined by her sexual orientation.
To them, she was just Mama G.