Norwin board deadlocked on inviting anti-socialist speaker

A Venezuelan immigrant who discusses the harsh life his family endured under a socialist regime in his native county, will not be invited this fall to tell Norwin High School students about his experience and offer his anti-socialism message.

In a typical result when the Norwin School Board votes on controversial issues, the directors this week were split 4-4 on extending the invitation to Daniel DiMartino, ensuring that the founder of the Dissident Project speakers group would not be invited at this time. DiMartino’s appearance would not have cost the district any money.

Directors Robert Wayman, Christine Baverso, Alex Detschelt and Shawna Ilagan favored DiMartino’s appearance, but the board’s other faction, Darlene Ciocca, William Essay, Raymond Kocak and Patrick Lynn, opposed it. The two factions voted the same way in February when a similar attempt was made to invite DiMartino.

Wayman had initially asked that the vote be postponed until the October board meeting because of DiMartino’s schedule, but Lynn and Essay sought a vote on Sept. 11.

“They pushed so hard for this to be on the agenda,” Lynn said.

Wayman, who in August wanted a vote in September, said he believed it was extremely important for students to hear about someone’s experiences under socialism. DiMartino, 24, came to the United States in 2016 to go to college and is earning his doctorate. Wayman claimed that students would have heard from DiMartino “what the future holds for them unless things are changed.”

Ilagan said DiMartino spoke at the Gateway School District in Monroeville and “it would be a shame if they (Norwin students) missed out on this opportunity.”

The board faction that supported DiMartino’s appearance also voted in 2022 to end the broadcast of CNN-10, a news and entertainment program broadcast to students their during homeroom before classes began, in part because they deemed it as one-sided.

Ciocca, board president, said Tuesday that while DiMartino has a good message, he is espousing a particular political viewpoint. She noted that the district does not permit its own teachers to express political views to students in the classroom. DiMartino’s message may be better suited to college students than high school students, Cioccca said.

The board faction that wants DiMartino to speak to students could have found an outside venue in the community where he can present his program, Ciocca said.

Essay declined to comment on his reason for voting against inviting DiMartino to speak.

Lynn said he saw the invitation as a “political move” by the “far right faction on the board.” It would be a one-sided presentation, he noted.

“I don’t think our students should be exposed to that,” Lynn said.