STAFF REPORT

After speaking with former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Principal Matt Outlaw says he is comfortable with the district’s decision to reinstate the previously cancelled assembly.

“I actually spoke with the senator for about 30 minutes and we talked about a variety of topics related to the speech,” Outlaw said. “It’s a message for high school students. It’s not a message for a bunch of fundraisers in a political environment.”

The assembly had previously been cancelled on Monday, as the administration was concerned that Santorum could not supply a script or overview of the speech, and they had been told that Santorum had never spoken at a high school.

Outlaw said that the national Young Americans for Freedom organization, which was sponsoring the event, had not provided him the correct information regarding the speaker.

“Senator Santorum has spoken at over 400 high schools,” said Outlaw, whereas the national organization had told him that the Senator had never spoken at a high school. “I think they were just mistaken (and) we talked about it afterward.”

Patrick Coyle, the Vice President of the National Young Americans for Freedom organization, said there was no miscommunication,  but that this was the first time Santorum had spoken at a high school since his presidential campaign.

Appearing in local, regional and national media outlets, the story has ignited a media firestorm, driving students to use Twitter and Facebook to voice their opinions on the subject.

Some, such as Shannon McGlone ’16, look forward to the assembly, regardless of the speaker’s political leanings.

“It’s kind of ridiculous that some people made a fuss about Rick Santorum coming to speak at our school based on the fact that he’s a Republican,” said McGlone. “It upsets me that people won’t take in both sides into account and won’t take advantage of a great resource that we have in front of us.”

Conrad Schaitberger ’14 said the assembly will be great for the entire student body no matter political leanings.

“Regardless of what his background is, the assembly will be something interesting for everyone to attend,” he said.

Meanwhile some students were less excited about the Senator’s speech, such as Angela Perry ’16.

“I just think that because he such an extreme Republican, this assembly will divide our school,” said Perry.

Maggie Rapai ’14 said that she has trouble with Santorum’s stance on gay marriage.

“I also don’t feel like he should be speaking at a politically neutral institution like a school, I would have no problems if he came to our community and spoke at a venue like the War Memorial,” said Maggie Rapai ’14.

A letter went out to parents on Thursday apologizing for the lack of clarity and confirming that the assembly will take place from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. on April 24th and will be for students and faculty.  Students will be required to have a signed permission slip from their parents to attend the event, according to a district press release.