VHS principal is being wrongfully slandered

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 29, 2016

I have worked and lived in this community since March 2011, and my wife and I love the island. We appreciate Vashon’s progressive values.

I was disturbed several weeks ago when an active community member told me that Vashon High School (VHS) Principal Danny Rock was getting his comeuppance. She said she was tired of having him force his religious beliefs on kids.

Full disclosure: I am the adviser to The Riptide, the VHS high school newspaper. As a journalist, my trade is telling the truth. I don’t know all the facts about the lawsuit, but after watching my kids research and dig to uncover the truth, there is one thing I know. Mr. Rock does not force his beliefs on anyone.

It’s a vicious rumor now floating across social media through the relatively secular world of Vashon. It’s a slanderous accusation.

Trust me, I know about fundamentalists. I grew up Amish-Mennonite in Ohio. I love my family, but I disagree strongly with their ideals. They’re not afraid to voice their beliefs.

I can say with certainty that Danny is nothing like them. As an English teacher and the Riptide adviser, I interact with him daily. Here’s the highest praise a journalism teacher can give a principal — Mr. Rock has never ever chosen to exercise his administrative right of prior review (the chance to review the paper before it goes to print), even in the most recent issue, when my students reported on the implications of the lawsuit. He believes in freedom of speech, in letting kids take appropriate risks, even if that means he has less control. He encourages kids to speak their minds.

Does that sound like a man who imposes beliefs on kids?

Based on what I’ve observed, I find Danny to be a scrupulously honest, decent, caring human being who does everything possible to ensure that his students and faculty succeed.

Hearing Mr. Rock slandered — with the apparent goal of destroying him, both professionally and personally _ angers me. That kind of behavior, fostered by the darkest threads in social media, is flat-out wrong. It is not worthy of our island community.

— Steven L. Denlinger