Who is Mark Zmuda?

300 Catholic kids clamor over firing of gay vice-principal  Mark Zmuda

Mark Zmuda

Students at Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, Washington held a “sit-in” to protest the” forced resignation” of their Vice-Principal Mark Zmuda.  According to senior Julia Troy Zmuda was forced to resign because he married a man.  While Zmuda was married over the summer, the school did not learn about the marriage until sometime last month.

Eastside Catholic School reported that Mark Zmuda resigned for marrying a man.  Sister Mary Tracy, school spokesperson, confirmed that this was a breach of contract and that tomorrow is his last day.

An anonymous online source said: “The administration is opposed to this but they were given no choice.”   Tracy confirmed this stating this was “a church decision is not a school decision.”  Many students are upset by the decision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle.

Indeed, approximately 300 students are refusing to go to class in support of V.P. Mark Zmuda.  Some students report teachers stopped forcing them to return to class.  The high schoolers were uncertain as to how long their protest would last.  Tomorrow is only a half-day.  Furthermore it is also the last day before the start of winter break.

“Sit-in” protest for Mark Zmuda

Meanwhile, students continue to garner support via social networks such as Reddit and Twitter.  One student has posted a petition expressing the “outrage” of the student body, stating that they “have experienced an egregious injustice”.  It states that Mark Zmuda is “an incredible administrator, coach, and human being was fired solely because of his love and marriage for another human being.”

The petition requests that the Catholic Church reconsider its position on gay marriage.  They urge the powers that be to act “as Jesus would have” and be “loving and supporting” of everyone “regardless of their marital status . . . so that the Catholic Church can achieve its mission of acting with unconditional love in every situation. “  The petition presently has more than  2,000 signatures can be found on Change.org.

(Image courtesy of Eastsidecatholic.org and Reddit)