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MANCHESTER, N.H. – At a meeting on Monday night, the Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) voiced support for a recent LGBTQ pride event recently held at Manchester West High School.
Concern over the event was raised during the BOSC meeting’s public comment segment, where a few residents including Daniel Mowry of Ward 6 expressed disgust at the event, calling it a “drag queen show.” Mowry, who identified himself as a gay man during his commentary, said that the event was inappropriate for schools and LGBTQ Pride efforts are being forced upon people against their will.
“We should educate students in civic pride, not gay pride,” he said.
In response to public comment, BOSC Member Ken Tassey Jr. said he was sympathetic to Mowry’s views. While Tassey said he was not at the West event and would defer to the descriptions of those board members who were, he felt that more deliberation in advance would have been appropriate and he felt that an event promoting studying or opposing bullying would have been more appropriate.
Ward 4 BOSC Member Leslie Want was the first to challenge Mowry’s opinion, stating that it was not a drag show but a young woman playing the piano and singing. At-Large BOSC Member Jim O’Connell was also at the event and described it as “uplifting.” Later, O’Connell noted that the event was organized by students. Additionally, since the event at West was an extra-curricular event held outside of school hours, he compared it to a Christian prayer event organized by students at Central High School done outside of school hours, and that the Manchester School District’s goal is to be inclusive of all viewpoints regarding extra-curricular activities, a viewpoint echoed by Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jenn Gillis.
At-Large BOSC Member Peter Argeropoulos noted that the event has been going on since 2018 and echoed his fellow board members’ comments that the school district aims to respect all voices and that it was student-led and was not during school hours.
Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig noted that the event was packed, Ward 5 BOSC Member Jason Bonilla praised the event for helping give marginalized students a voice, and Ward 11 BOSC Member Dr. Nicole Leapley went further.
Leapley was at the event and said it was great. She also referenced a member of the audience holding a sign discussing pedophilia and noted that events like these are needed to help students who may feel under attack know that they have a safe space.
“I just want to uplift all of the adults I saw in that room who showed up and were there for kids,” she said. “None of this is easy, but we’re all a community and we all care about each other and we’re not going to single each other out for being different.”
