And during a legislative hearing last month in Tennessee, two Republican state lawmakers discussed the growing crisis of public schools providing litter boxes for children who identify as cats, and claimed its happening across the state. We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. The conversation will go back to what it should be about people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Some social media users are sharing a photo they claim shows a student who identifies as a cat. And it demonstrates how quickly some elements of truth can be twisted and mashed up with fully debunked assertions to create a viral narrative amplified by prominent politicians, as well as commentators with large audiences. She said when she has worn part of her fur suit to school, I dont act like an animal, or think that I am one.. AM 1380 / 99.9 FM WNRI. The woman went on to say that if she did not follow through with their request then she would essentially be let go. Since many "furries", "therians", and "otherkins" often identify as non-heterosexual, this may be a good way for them to know that you are open to seeing all students. 2. Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow said: There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! Meade County Schools will not discuss individual student discipline due to privacy laws.". Inthe Dec. 21, 2021, YouTube video, which now has more than 91,000 views, a woman said during the Midland Public Schools board meeting that she was told there wasa litter box in the bathroom of at least one local school for students who self-identify as cat "furries" people who adopt and identify with an anthropomorphized animal persona, often within online or local communities of furries. Snowstorm Could Hit Metro Detroit Friday: Possible Snow Totals, Detroit Bakery Reopens In Midtown With 25 Cent Cookies, DTE Energy Will Give Automatic Credit To Those Affect By Power Outage, Here's How Many Guns Were Sold In Michigan Last Month, 2 Women Sexually Assaulted While Walking In Ann Arbor, Police Say, Popular Oakland County Restaurant, Music Venue Abruptly Closes. Since insurance wont cover vet visits, and I doubt most vets want to participate in the Im a cat delusion, Im thinking their options are limited to doctors. At a luncheon for Republican women in Mesa County, Colorado, last week, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., warned that educators are putting litter boxes in schools for people who identify as cats.. Of local interest, Hansen insisted, are policies that she claims accommodate students who identify as furries, or cats and dogs. GLSEN offers a safe space kit that has stickers and posters that can be displayed in your office for students. Follow, Investigative Radio host/ On-Scene Facebook Live stream. Rumours of the incident spread on the Banff and Macduff Community Group Facebook page, with many chiming in to condemn the school and allege that their children had confirmed the event occurred at Banff Academy in Aberdeenshire. "The students are told they cant wear hats or Budweiser shirts in school, but they can wear cat ears, cat tails, masks, leashes. Also a PR expert, Goddard was highlighting concerns about the next census and the push to include gender categories. I heard that at least one of our schools in our town has a, in one of the unisex bathrooms, a litter box for the kids that identify as cats. students identifying as cats Her campaign declined to answer questions about Ganahls claims, but in one interview with a local Fox affiliate, she suggested theres a lot of this going on in Jefferson County. 11:AM-2:PM 99.9 FM /AM 1380 MA, RI. Did a Michigan School District Install Litter Boxes in Bathrooms? Snopes.Com, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/litter-boxes-bathrooms/. The school districts saythese claims are untrue. This is a cat-focused blog, so my interest here is the idea that cats have been dragged into the ongoing American culture wars. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claimthat a Michigan school put litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats. He is going on 16 years old this year, and has been with us a long time. Theres no such thing as a litter box at a furry convention.. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. Additionally, this summer, a group of parents and community members unsuccessfully pushedfor the removal of "Gender Queer: A Memoir," a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe that discusses topics such as asexuality and being nonbinary, from Salem-Keizer high school libraries. When asked by NBC News for evidence to support her assertion, Lauf referred to an anonymous far-right blog that claimed a student was permitted to wear a furry suit to school in Hinsdale, Illinois. Many people are doing what amounts to an experiment on these young people without telling them its an experiment. An Iowa newspaper reported some students in a small town identified as cats. "Restroom facilities are available at all district facilities in compliance with state law," she added. The school district called that blogs story completely inaccurate and not something it would permit. Im just embarrassed by what this has gotten to," she said. This is what we're doing now in 2022. Local advocates want to shut down that line of thinking. There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools.. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem-Keizer: Claims of litter boxes in school restrooms are false. This site is about cats, and I want everyone who loves cats to feel welcome here. There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools," he wrote. Do your research. Thankfully for our furry friends, smaller brains don't necessarily correlate to lower intelligence. If they feel they are cats, they should stay home, get a liscense and a rabies shot and use their back yard or litter box. She said: If some student wants to pretend like a cat and use a litterbox after school, thats their prerogative, whatever. Opponents said they believed the main purpose of the book was "to promote various agendas" related to the LGBTQ community in an attempt to "make it more acceptable in the mainstream. The only problem is it isnt true. For those of us who subscribe to neither ideology, the whole thing is another sad example of the polarization that is destroying the US, the same divisive talk amplified by platforms like Twitter and Facebook. At an October Midland school board meeting, an eighth grader said she was confused, as a student, why kids are walking around acting like cats and dogs., Speaking at about the 1:30-minute mark, she described a student who walked around the school with a long cat tail, cat ears and "little bells that jingled everywhere she went.". Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. It started when a video of a central Michigan school board meeting went viral in mid-January after a parent claimed a "nefarious . Some politicians issued warnings about children acting as cats during debates regarding school policies related to transgender and nonbinary youth. It could damage the student's future self-image and destroy ambitions.". In one of the images, she appears to be crawling on her hands and knees. TikTok False: The claim is. Im staying calm, but Im not happy about it, and its happened on your watch, and I dont understand it., Heres the video: (It should start at the relevant section, but if it doesnt, Hansen speaks at the 32:44 mark). It has even been parroted by former QAnon supporter and Republican politician Marjorie Taylor Greene. 2. No, Furries Dont Get Litter Boxes in School Bathrooms. Poynter, 8 Mar. The Michigan incident started when a mom of kids at the Midland School District, about 130 miles northwest of Detroit, spoke at a school board meeting about a rumor which she took as fact alleging the school was accommodating furries by providing litter boxes in unisex bathrooms. Ive studied more than 40,000 furries from 70 different countries over a decade, she said. Seriously, Parents are allowing their kids to think they are cats! Website development by. Its like that show and South Park are sort of grandfathered in and get away with things due to their success, but new shows wouldnt be allowed near some of these topics with a 10-foot pole. Cant even google interprete for you. Skibbereen Community College bosses said they contacted authorities over crazy claims. Im just embarrassed by what this has gotten to," she said. Top image: A 20-year-old Norwegian woman who identifies as a cat. USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment. "Let me be clear there is no truth whatsoever tothis false statement/accusation! Furries are part of an established subculture that has existed for decades. Having said that, I can picture Family Guy creating much fanfare with this fictional student-cat-identity and substitute-teacher-noncompliance story. A video of Wisconsin talk radio host Vicki McKenna's appearance on the Dr. Duke Show, a podcast hosted by Dr. Duke Pesta, racked up more than 100,000 views as it circulated on social media: There's no truth to this rumor. Some children, she alleged, would only communicate in barks and hisses. Lastly, the superintendent of the school district has dismissed the rumors as misinformation. But the claim has taken on a life of its own among a growing number of Republicans, conservative influencers and political commentators. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. The world continues to spiral down into the seemingly bottomless pit of insanity, as Bristol University issues official guidelines for staff in the correct use of pronouns for those who identify as "catgender," reports the Daily Mail. That has not stopped such rumors from circulating on social media, where they have been repeated like a game of telephone, often with descriptions of friends of friends who supposedly saw such things firsthand. Accessed 5 Apr. Oh, you are a human? Thank you for supporting our journalism. A SCHOOL in Michigan has bizarrely been accused by outraged parents of installing litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats and dogs. Description. The claim: Photos show non-verbal student whose cat identity is accommodated at public school Some social media users are sharing a photo they claim shows a student who identifies as a cat.. Opposing public figures is an emergency these days. someone pointed out. Ben Goggin is the deputy editor for technology at NBC News Digital. Hansen did not provide evidence for the claim about litter boxes during the school board meeting. I dont accept sponsored posts and I have a no-politics policy, even for politics-adjacent subjects like this. Michigan superintendent debunks rumor. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's It also directs schools to ensure that gender-neutral, single-occupant bathrooms are accessible to anyone. Joseph Gunderson. The district where Columbine High School is located has been stocking classrooms with small amounts of cat litter since 2017, but as part of go buckets that contain emergency supplies in case students are locked in a classroom during a shooting. The grandmother said a petition to end the practice was created by students and has more than 1,000 signatures. You want to communicate by meowing? A substitute teacher uploaded a video to TikTok claiming she was asked to "meow" at a student who identified as a cat. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Many parents and teachers have confided in me privately about the madness thats happening pertaining to this trend, Lauf told NBC News in an email. The trend toward acting like a cat or dog is real, even if the Midland school litter box is the hoax du jour. But thats beyond the scope of this blog, which is to celebrate cats, have a laugh and occasionally put the spotlight on animal welfare. The Waunakee Community School District does not have protocols for furries, nor do we have an issue with disruptions in our school and classrooms.. This thing has gotten out of control with politicians just wanting to have a talking point, said John McDonald, former director of campus safety at Jefferson County schools, whos now a school security consultant. It's The #2 BEST Way To . She covers misinformation, extremism and the internet. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Good question! Rumors began to surface that these students were permitted to use litter boxes in bathrooms to. Interestingly, Pesta follows the slide about "furry protocols" with another false rumor about a teacher being fired for protesting against the installation of litterboxes at schools in Michigan for students who identified as cats. She said the issue gained attention on social media once people started sharing photos and videos of the feline costumes and behavior, "I started getting videos and messages from kids, and I said, 'Ok, Im going to post this so parents know whats going on.'". "Sprague High School, or any Salem-Keizer school,do nothave litter boxes for use as restroom facilities," Emily Hicks, a spokeswoman for the district, said. IE 11 is not supported. Ben Collins covers disinformation, extremism and the internet for NBC News. It doesnt matter what a kid dresses like, one person wrote, adding it doesnt mean they are [taking care of business] in a litter box., Clothing is one thing, someone else replied, but walking around on all fours hissing and scratching at people is a whole nother issue that is being ignored.. Roberts, an associate professor at Renison University College, affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Canada, said that nearly all furries maintain distinct human personas and do not identify as animals. Ultimately, when you allow people to transition or identify as something they are not, by enabling these mental health issues instead of trying to resolve them, the natural progression is for people to start identifying legitimately as other things, such as cats. 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