A Seattle-area public high school recently demanded that students sign a pledge to support abortion and other leftist causes in order to participate in a mentoring program, according to a new report by KTTH 770 AM.
The pledge, which requires support for abortion, Black Lives Matter, open borders and more, is mandatory for the Eastlake High School Link Crew, a program that provides junior and senior mentors to freshmen students, KTTH found.
KTTH talkshow host Jason Rantz said students have contacted him about this and other leftist political actions at the school, and some are afraid to express their conservative views.
“That means they’re not in a healthy environment,” Rantz said.
According to the investigation, students at the Sammamish school who want to participate in Link Crew must sign a “Code of Conduct” pledge. While some of the requirements are reasonable, such as having a positive attitude and being a good role model, others are political.
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“Students must initial next to the statements that they believe ‘Black Lives Matter,’ ‘Love is Love,’ ‘No Human is Illegal,’ ‘Women’s rights are human rights,’ and ‘Kindness is everything,’” the report continues.
It identified teachers Jason Wessels and Michelle Okroy as the faculty advisors for the program. When contacted for comment, the school district told KTTH: “Thank you for your questions and for bringing this to our attention. We will address this matter with the school and the Link Crew advisors.”
The school has a reputation for leftist views, and some teachers openly defend pushing their political opinions on students.
Shila Hodgins, a humanities teacher at the high school, told the podcast Indy on Air that she and other teachers “always bring in our politics” in the classroom.
“I do my best to teach through the lens of justice in a way that centers a diverse range of experiences and backgrounds,” Hodgins said in December. “I want my students to see … that they are valued, heard, and supported. And I want them to know that I stand with them and the continued fight for equal rights in a more equitable world.”
Asked about indoctrination, Hodgins did not seem to see anything wrong with what she and other teachers are doing.
“It’s been said that it’s too liberal. Right? What is controversial about talking about systems of oppression? What is controversial about talking about race and equal rights?” she asked.
Rantz said the problem is that she and other teachers are being one-sided by not presenting the whole picture and allowing students to think for themselves.
Students should not “feel like they must parrot the view of the teacher out of fear they will receive poor grades for taking the wrong position,” he said, mentioning some of the Eastlake students whom he has spoken with.
“If a frequent criticism of a class is that it’s too liberal, then the teacher is bringing personal politics to the classroom,” he said. “When a teacher truly brings all sides to a discussion — which Hodgins claims to do — then you’re unlikely to be hit with criticisms of being one-sided.”
