THE DESERET NEWS
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wednesday, February 28, 1996
               GAY TEACHER SAYS SILENCE WOULD BE HYPOCRITICAL
By Marjorie Cortez, Deseret News staff writer
   The Granite School District was deluged with telephone calls Wednesday in
reaction to a Skyline High debate teacher's public declaration that he is
gay.
   District spokesman Kent Gardner said district personnel were fielding
calls ''left and right'' in reaction to Clayton K. Vetter's announcement made
Tuesday during a press conference at the state Capitol.
   ''A majority'' was of the opinion that Vetter should not be employed as a
teacher.  
   The district's response, according to Gardner, is that ''(Vetter) simply
made a statement about his personal life. . . . At this point, we have no
information that it is impacting his classroom.''      Vetter, 34, said he
decided to publicly announce his sexual orientation because he believed to
remain silent was hypocritical to his conviction that people should stand up
for their beliefs.
   ''To not stand up now, when there are so many misconceptions and questions
concerning gay issues, would go against everything I have tried to teach.
This is why I feel I have to come forward. There is too much hope in the
world not to come forward. I owe it to my students,'' Vetter said.  
   Vetter revealed his sexual status at a press conference during which the
formation of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers' Alliance was announced.
The organization was founded, in part, to respond to the controversy over a
request by a small group of East High students who petitioned their school
principal to form a gay-straight alliance for students.
   The issue mushroomed into formal school board policy, which banned
non-curricular clubs from secondary schools beginning this fall. The issue
also has been debated in the Utah Legislature, where it is the subject of two
bills.
   Doug Wortham, who teaches French at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, heads
the group. Wortham, who said he also is gay, said the goal of the
organization is to ensure that each member of every school community is
valued and respected. Wortham would not comment how many teachers have joined
the alliance but said its membership stretches across the Salt Lake Valley.

  Vetter, who has taught in the Granite School District for 12 years, is
Skyline's debate coach. Last year, 11 of his students qualified for national
competition -- a Utah record. He has been nominated for district teacher of
the year.  
   His sexual status was secret until Tuesday, he said. ''I've never been
inappropriate with students. I would never cross that line. I would never
talk about sex in the classroom. I think I would always know what is
appropriate in the classroom.''  
   Vetter acknowledged the disclosure could cost him his job. He said his
administrators had been supportive, thus far. ''As far as long-term tenure,
we're about to find out.''  
   Case law on the conduct of public employees suggests that the state's
interests outweigh a teacher's interest when expression of a First Amendment
freedom results in a ''material or substantial interference or disruption in
the normal activities of the school.''     Vetter said he decided to get
involved after watching the school clubs controversy unfold. ''This was my
lifestyle they were talking about on the news. They talk about the 'gay
lifestyle.' I wish I could sit down with them and show them my gay lifestyle.
I get up in the morning, I eat my cereal and I go to school. I come home late
and go to bed. I think it would bore the pants off of them,'' he said.  
   Vetter called himself a pioneer. ''I'm shaking in my boots, but there
isn't one of my classes that hasn't heard me talk about Rosa Parks who stood
up on a bus and said, 'No.' You know when it's time to say, 'No.' ''  
   Gayle Ruzicka of the Utah Eagle Forum said she was ''offended he would
call himself a hero and a pioneer or compare himself to Rosa Parks. I'm
concerned for his students. If he chooses to be a gay man, he should keep it
to himself.''  
   Following the press conference, Vetter was mobbed by a group of about 50
students, many who wept openly and complimented the teacher for his bravery.

   ''If people want to judge him and criticize him, that's their problem. I
can't explain what an inspirational teacher he is. He will have a lasting
effect on my life,'' said Skyline student Andy Wilde.  
   * [NOTE:  Granite School District # 801-263-6100]

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