Opinion
Wilton Bulletin editorial: A student play?

Apr 5, 2007

Students should have the ability to express themselves freely, to present their views through a play, a poem or another public outlet, and that right should be defended by the schools, their parents and the community.

In the case of the “Voices in Conflict” production at Wilton High School, however, there is doubt that the voices being quashed were, in fact, those of the students.

The play was not an “original” student production. It was a compilation of mostly verbatim accounts taken from a documentary film and other sources. Also, the play was not the students’ idea, it was their teacher’s.

Bonnie Dickinson said she came up with the idea for the play after reading the book In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive. She presented her proposal to Principal Tim Canty, who agreed to the play being taught in her theater class.

Leaving aside the controversy over the issue of balance, it is the direction the play received from the teacher that raises questions about whether this was really a case of student free speech.

The play was a class assignment, not an independent student endeavor. As such, it should have had an educational component, or a discussion of the variety of opinions on the subject built in from the start. To do otherwise would be akin to teaching creationism in science class, and deciding not to discuss evolution.

In an e-mail from Ms. Dickinson to her students sent Feb. 11, she writes: “Please send me what you copied down this weekend from the film so that I can edit or add for you to memorize over vacation week.” Ms. Dickinson was crafting the script, not the students, though their selections were used.

Also a point of contradiction is the discussion of what the play was supposed to be.

In an interview last week, Mr. Canty said Ms. Dickinson had pitched the play as a way “to honor the troops.” Ms. Dickinson disagreed. “I don’t talk like that,” she said.

In a letter to the Madaras family, however, handwritten, signed Bonnie Dickinson and dated Feb. 28, she wrote: “It is our hope that through these words we can, for just one moment, bring honor and attention to the brave men and women who have put their life on the line for this country.” She goes on to use the word “honor” three more times in the letter.

She asked the Madaras family for a letter home from their son Nick, to include in the play, but wrote if they did not want anything included they did not need to respond to her and “I will not pursue this.”

In an e-mail from William Madaras to Barbara Alessi, sent Feb. 26, which she said was forwarded to Ms. Dickinson, he writes in part: “I do not want Nick’s name or persona used in this play in any way, shape or form — I do not even want any reference made to his particular experience or circumstance.”

The most recent version of the play opened with a letter home from Nick Madaras that had been published in The Wilton Villager.

Allowable as public information, of course it was, but it was also improper and insensitive.


© Copyright 2007 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers