'Satan Club' denied by Pennsylvania school board
YORK, Pa. (WHTM) — In Pennsylvania, there was outrage in the Northern York County School District after an elementary school Satan Club was proposed as a new after-school program. People packed the high school auditorium for Tuesday's school board meeting to protest the proposal. "My friends sent me a thing, and at first I thought [...]
YORK, Pa. (WHTM) — In Pennsylvania, there was outrage in the Northern York County School District after an elementary school Satan Club was proposed as a new after-school program. People packed the high school auditorium for Tuesday's school board meeting to protest the proposal.
"My friends sent me a thing, and at first I thought it was just another news story," said Wes Gessamn, a 2020 Northern High School graduate. "But to have to have it here in Dillsburg, which is very, you know, right-wing area of the country—the fact that it's already happening, I mean, I am incensed."
Rebecca and Jeff Paulus attended the board meeting even though they live outside the Northern York School District. "We heard that they want to put a satanist club in here, and that, just obviously—my sign pretty much says it. 'Jesus gives life abundantly. Satan is here to kill and destroy,'" Jeff said.
"What happens to one school district makes a difference in the rest of our area," Rebecca said. "It could easy enough move to some of the rest of the area."
"We take Bibles and prayer out, Satan automatically comes in, and now we're inviting him," Jeff said. "Obviously, I'm going to take a stand against that."
One man who spoke at the meeting emphasized that schools exist to educate children, not to serve as a platform for revolution. "I urge the school board to preserve the innocence of our children, programs that stabilize children should be excluded," the man who opposed the club said.
Another man, however, says he is not a Christian, not a Satanist, but worries about keeping the club out:
"I'm here tonight as a voice of reason. I do not push my beliefs on my children. That is something I do not do. When they're old enough, they can decide for themselves."
One woman who spoke during the meeting took another position that was not popular with everyone. "The last time I was here, it was because I had to fight for my daughter, who was in a group of kids who wanted to start a gay-straight alliance," she said before individuals in the crowd shouted at her. "Now, what is objectionable about that?"
At the end of the meeting, cheers filled the room after the vote was announced. "No, no. Motion fails eight to one."