Eastside Catholic students continuing protest movement over departed gay principal

The Eastside Catholic High School students behind a protest movement prompted by the departure of a popular gay vice principal are vowing to continue their efforts in the new year.

Students first staged a sit-in and walkout Dec. 19 after learning vice principal and swim coach Mark Zmuda was leaving the school because he had married his gay partner.

The school says Zmuda resigned because he was knowingly in violation of Church doctrine. Zmuda has since said he was fired.

The issue has garnered international attention. And 18-year-old senior Julia Burns says the students aren’t about to give up.

“I think to actually make a change and a long lasting impact we need to keep going with continuous events and keep the word out whenever we can,” she says.

Burns says students realize Zmuda is not likely to return to the school, but she says it’s important, as a senior, to continue raising awareness about the issue both at Eastside Catholic and nationwide.

“I don’t want to leave behind the impression and legacy for something so negative. I hope that our student movement and our love for Mr. Zmuda overrides the injustice of him being removed.”

Students plan to gather Saturday at the Archdiocese of Seattle on Capitol Hill at 2 p.m. to outline their plans for keeping the movement going, and to clear up what Burns says have been “misleading statements” made by the school about Zmuda’s departure.

“We want everyone to know we’re not just going to let it go and brush it off and we just want to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” she says.

Over 30,000 people have now signed an online petition calling on the Catholic Church to change its policy on gay marriage.