By: Ben Swann
Gilford, NH- A father of a high school student was arrested at a school board meeting Monday night after protesting the school’s sexually explicit required reading assigned to his 9th grade daughter at Gilford High School.
The book in question, ”Nineteen Minutes” by author Jodi Picoult, is about a school shooting taking place in a fictitious New Hampshire town, and it contains themes of student violence, bullying, and sexual aggression. There is one particularly provocative and graphic depiction of violent, drunken sex between two teens in the story on page 313. Click here to read the passage (warning: graphic language and explicit sexual content).
William Baer came to the meeting to voice his opposition to the school’s failure to send home notification alerting parents of the graphic content. “I’m outraged that Gilford High School would require my daughter to read this kind of material,” Baer told the Laconia Daily Sun.
Josh Youssef, a friend of Baer, spoke with Benswann.com about what preceded the school board meeting and Baer’s arrest. Youssef was at Baer’s home when they were talking about a reading assignment given to Baer’s daughter. Youssef opened the book and came across page 313, and they were shocked by the graphic description of rough sex. “His jaw dropped,” Youseff told Benswann.com.
Baer then contacted Principal Peter Sawyer of Gilford High School last Wednesday to arrange a meeting, but was told by Sawyer it would not be possible to meet before the weekend. Baer attended Monday’s meeting to make his concerns known to the school board. There was a police officer present at the meeting, Gilford Lt. James Leach. Youssef said that he had been told by other parents that it’s not common for police to be present at Gilford school board meetings.
The school board meeting allowed for public comment only; no discussion, questions or speaking more than once was permitted.
After Baer spoke for two minutes- the maximum speaking time dictated by the school board- another parent, Joe Wernig, spoke in support of the book’s content. Baer responded to Wernig’s comments, and it was then that he was asked to leave by Leach. When Baer asked if he was going to be arrested, he was escorted from the meeting by Leach and handcuffed before being placed in a police cruiser. After Baer’s arrest, Lt. Leach was not replaced by another officer for the duration of the meeting.
Baer was not the only angry parent at the school board meeting. Another parent, Sarah Carrigan, said that she was “utterly appalled that this was an ‘oversight’”. Baer’s wife, Barbara Baer, shares her husband’s frustration. “They can discuss this some other way,” she said. “They don’t need that kind of imagery.”
“Nineteen Minutes” has been part of Gilford’s 9th grade AP English curriculum since 2007 when it was published. The school issued a statement that concluded the district “will take immediate action to revise these policies to include notification that requires parents to accept controversial material, rather than opt out.” The school sent out a notice stating that the book assigned “depicts high school relationships, some of which are unhealthy.”
Baer told Benswann.com that the school’s notice was only sent out after he went to the principal to discuss it, and that the notice failed to disclose the graphic passage in the book. “I can’t believe the school requires this as reading material,” he said. “There’s no reason to expect this kind of thing.”
While some parents say that this book opens up critical dialogue between parents and their children, Baer noted that when he asked Sawyer to discuss the passage in context with the rest of the book, Sawyer said he was uncomfortable doing so.
In the extended video below, given to Benswann.com by Youssef, Baer is shown being arrested after speaking out. Youssef believes, and the video shows, at minute 5:05 the superintendent signalling Lt. Leach to confront Baer to remove him from the building.
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Will someone please call for the arrest of the School Board and Superintendent?
THEY should all be arrested for
contributing to the delinquency of minors!
Their DUTY is to oversee curriculum and their
irresponsibility likens them to weird uncle Billy who would go to jail for
showing porn to minors! Let a jury decide. Who will have the moral courage to
DEMAND arrests of the Board and Superintendent? Who will have the political
courage to do the arrests? I read the page and it is hot porn that will stir
covetousness, fornication, and lust in teens. There also are two instances of
blasphemy which are also repugnant to parents with moral values.
This is what happens when you trust “schooling” (act like fish) to government.. I’ll bet the book fits Common Core guidelines.
Communism goal is to disorient and destroy their enemies ability to react. Allowing the Communist Jews to hide as “professionals” to murder and poison the United States is a testament to how effective they can be. As if we needed any more substance to add to their crimes of the last century and their effectiveness at committing mass murder and torture.
Communist robot slaves are well paid these days. Don’t think for a moment that DHS hasn’t infected individuals with bribes and young girls to please them using their MASS Surveilance to snitch on each other. Communist robot slaves are not allowed to question their leaders or community organizers. Now go back to being a good little slave while we sexually exploit your sons and daughters, if not we will declare martial law and do it violently if we don’t get raped and murdered willingly.
Just like Braveheart with the British coming to take the mans wife during his wedding to gang rape her as part of their “rights”. This is the government we live under.
“And I am here to take the right of a husband”!