"...the nexus of four liberal-arts colleges and a major public university."

There's your problem right there. None of this would be an issue if schools concentrated on actual academics instead of this constant bickering about social issues and religion. No place for either in these schools. It's the parents' job to teach kids about religion and sexuality, amongst other, non-academic topics. It's the teachers job to teach and prepare those kids for either college or work - to give them the academic skills to thrive in both. Public schools should be quarantined from all this nonsense.