The Haines School Drama, Debate and Forensics team will host a second home meet Saturday after a rule at a Juneau competition in January barred students from performing two speeches that include elements of violence.

DDF Coach Amanda Randles said competing team coaches received an email in late December that students should not perform speeches about violence – particularly gun violence – at the Thunder Mountain High School meet after a shooting threat on social media in early December upset students.

“All of us coaches were perfectly happy to accommodate that,” Randles said.

But the restriction would have barred two Haines students from qualifying their pieces for the state meet on Feb. 23 in Anchorage. Speeches must be performed at two tournaments to qualify for state, Randles said.

One prohibited performance by sophomore Tiaya Ruggirello was a humorous interpretation of Arlo Guthrie’s protest song “Alice’s Restaurant,” written about the Vietnam War, which includes repetition of the word “kill.”

Although Ruggirello said she respected the Juneau school’s wishes, she said “it seemed a little unnecessary to me” to bar her piece.

“I Am Not Batman,” a solo performance by freshman Nathan Haas, also was barred. It includes a scene involving gun violence and abuse.

Haas said he was disappointed he couldn’t perform in the Juneau meet because the piece is one of his favorites. He said he felt the ban of violent pieces was “a little over the top.”

“Neither pieces are super shocking, but we opted to err on the side of caution,” Randles said.

Ten students from Haines will perform dramatic theater and speech events in the impromptu meet Saturday, including the two previously prohibited speeches. A team from Skagway planned to participate in the meet but cancelled this week due to illnesses. Because of the cancellation, Haines students will compete against each other.

The public is welcome to watch the Glacier Bards perform at Haines School Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

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