Iowa Teens Photos Go Viral For Protest Of Governor Reynolds
Hundreds of the highest-achieving high school scholars in Iowa were honored on Sunday during the Iowa Governor's Scholar Program in Des Moines. Each school in Iowa had at least one representative in the program.
During this year's program, three students used their short time on stage to protest controversial Iowa laws including education laws surrounding book bans, the Students First Act, and transgender rights. Photos and videos from Sunday's award ceremony involving these three have made it to social media and are going viral.
Iowa Teens Protest Governor Right Next To Her
Three students from the Iowa Governor's Scholar Program on Sunday are going viral after protesting on stage smack dabbed between Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg.
Newton High School seniors Marin Pettigrew and Leo Friedman were two of the hundreds of Iowa high school scholars recognized on Sunday in Des Moines. During their handshakes with Reynolds and Gregg, Pettigrew and Friedman were wearing shirts protesting controversial education laws in Iowa.
Pettigrew (pictured in the tweet above on the bottom) wore a shirt made by RAYGUN that says "Public Money For Public Schools." The shirt is in protest of Gov. Reynolds' Students First Act that was signed into law earlier this year.
According to the Iowa Governor's website, the Students First Act makes state education funding available for K-12 students who choose to attend private schools. It also provides public schools with additional categorical funding for students who live in their district but attend private schools and allows public school districts to use unspent money from some categorical funds to supplement teacher salaries.
Friedman's shirt, also made by RAYGUN, read "I Read Banned Books." This is in protest to education reform bill SF 496 which was passed on April 4th. The bill, according to KCCI, restricts LGBTQ topics in elementary schools and what books are allowed in classrooms and school libraries.
Davenport Teen Protest For Transgender Rights
After Pettigrew and Friedman silently protested in their photo-op, Clementine Springsteen, a Davenport West High senior and transgender woman protested by saying "Trans rights are human rights."
Clementine, who was seen in the video going video wearing a pink, white, and light blue tie to represent the transgender flag along with pins that read "Trans Rights Are Human Rights" and "She Her", told The Des Moines Register,
"I need to make it clear to her that we're not gonna be silent. We're not going to be protesting in a way that is comfortable for her that she can act like it doesn't exist or that it's some minor inconvenience. I want to inconvenience her, to make her realize that this is an issue."
In March, Gov. Reynolds signed into law the "Bathroom Bill", which prohibits persons from entering single and multiple occupancy restrooms or changing areas and other facilities in elementary and secondary schools that do not correspond with the person’s biological sex.
Reynolds also signed into law SF 538 which prohibits activities regarding gender transition procedures relative to minors.
All three moments were caught on video as seen in the video clip by The Des Moines Register below: