How would you feel if you found out one of your professors starred in a pornographic film? Sure, it would likely come as a bit of a shock, but would it disturb you so deeply that you’d ask for the immediate dismissal of said professor? Well, that’s what happened to a middle school teacher in Oxnard.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Stacie Halas, a 31-year-old science teacher at Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School was fired after some students found a porno she’d starred in online.
According to the article, Halas was put on immediate leave while the school board voted on whether or not to fire her.
In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone, the school board unanimously decided to fire Halas for starring in the film. Now Halas is trying to win her job back despite not doing anything wrong.
Halas starred in a pornographic movie. She didn’t kill anyone or abuse her students. As far as we know, there haven’t been complaints from her students about her teaching performance.
The only problem the school board has with her is her performance in front of the camera, and honestly, they shouldn’t hold that against her.
Teachers are grossly underpaid for the work they do, and many of them work second jobs to make a few extra bucks to pay the bills.
Some teachers work retail or moonlight as bartenders. Halas took an acting job. The content may be, for lack of a better word, unsavory, but no one asked her students to watch the porn. She wasn’t using class time to publicize her film role. Don’t knock a woman down for doing what she has to do to make a few bucks.
The members of the Oxnard Unified School Board need to get off their moral high horse and let this woman have her job back. Halas has been unfairly terminated and it’s no wonder she is seeking legal action.
“The type of conduct she engaged in was lawful conduct in a business which, while others may disagree with its content, is very vibrant in both Los Angeles as well as the state of California,” said Halas’ attorney Richard Schwab.
A lot of people, especially middle school kids exploring their sexuality, watch porn. Seeing their teacher in a film may have freaked them out, but there is absolutely no reason for the school to punish her for it.
Alexis Reza is a senior journalism major and opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
