Tolerance Betrayed

Larry Lane Bateman's 1975 Ph.D. dissertation from Southern Illinois University included two plays: one titled Kiss the Sky and another called Lying in State. Both are about male high school teachers who seduce male students. The controversial content of those works might have made prospective employers leery of hiring Bateman to teach at a boarding school. Yet administrators at New Hampshire's Phillips Exeter Academy insist that they never bothered to read his dissertation. At least, not until life on campus began to imitate art.

Scandal first erupted in July, when police raided Bateman's campus apartment and netted 650 pornographic videos. So far, police believe that they have identified at least one Exeter student in a video. Last Wednesday a federal grand jury indicted Bateman on 38 counts of violating the prohibition against shipping child pornography through the U.S. mail. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life in prison and $9.5 million in fines. Mortified school officials promptly fired Bateman from his post as chair of the drama department and began fielding furious calls from alumni and donors as well as parents. Full room, board and tuition at Exeter costs more than $15,000 a year.

The tragedy, which is certain to blemish the reputation of one of the country's oldest and most prestigious secondary schools, is equally certain to inflame the debate over "political correctness" and tolerance of alternative life-styles on the nation's campuses. Bateman, 51, pleaded not guilty on all counts, and his lawyer says he is the victim of homophobia. Exeter headmistress Kendra Stearns O'Donnell claims that the school fosters an attitude of acceptance toward homosexual teachers and students. She told the New York Times,"We have made an effort to educate not only in the traditional way, but to free students of the disabling prejudices that later in life will compromise their ability to make a difference." Students may get a chance to weigh in with their own opinions when, or if, they return in the fall.