The article is about a student at Benilde-St. Margaret's School who is trying to start a gay-straight alliance at the school. The article was in the Star Tribune, and is titled "Benilde student wants to start gay advocacy group."
Matt is a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, where he is a political science major. Matt has worked on a few political campaigns for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and he identifies himself as a member of the gay community.
Matt said the article written by Kelly Smith provides balanced coverage of the conflict between a student starting a gay-straight alliance at a Catholic school.
He specifically noted the balance in the following statement:
Dennis McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said he doesn't know of any such group at the metro area's 13 Catholic high schools, and "that has to say something."
It presents the details of the conflict without the writer editorializing and interjecting her own opinions. Matt said that the gay community was not stereotyped in this article, but that she presented the details of the situation.
Smith allows the story to unfold with the use of many quotes throughout. Therefore, she is using the words of others, and not herself. Sean Simonson, the student at the Catholic school, and Dennis McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, are quoted. Therefore, both sides of the argument are presented.
Smith also uses facts about gay-straight alliances at other Catholic schools in the area, including Catholic universities, such as the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University.
This article could be more controversial because of the struggle between the gay community and the Catholic church, but Smith has objectively reported on the different groups represented in the article.
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