The letter demands that Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative unblock the Internet filtering category designated “LGBT” so that students can access political and educational information about LGBT issues on school computers.

“When I found out about this web filtering software, I wasn’t looking for anything sexual or inappropriate – I was looking for information about scholarships for LGBT students, and I couldn’t get to it because of this software,” said Andrew Emitt, a 17-year-old senior at Central High School in Knoxville, in a statement released by the ACLU.

“Our schools shouldn’t be keeping students in the dark about LGBT organizations and resources,” Emitt said.

In its letter, the ACLU gives the districts and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative until April 29 to come up with a plan to restore access to the LGBT sites or any other category that blocks non-sexual websites advocating the fair treatment of LGBT people by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

If that deadline is not met, the ACLU will file a lawsuit, the letter warned.

“Students at Knox County and Metro Nashville schools are being denied access to content that is protected speech under the First Amendment as well as the Tennessee state constitution,” said Tricia Herzfeld, Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Tennessee.

“This kind of censorship does nothing but hurt students, whether they’re being harassed at school and want to know about their legal rights or are just trying to finish an assignment for a class.”

The Internet filtering software used by Knox County and Metro Nashville school districts blocks student access to the websites of many well-known national LGBT organizations, including: Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; The Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network; the Human Rights Campaign; The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; Dignity USA; Marriage Equality USA; and the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry.

In its demand letter, the ACLU notes that websites that urge LGBT persons to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through so-called “reparative therapy” or “ex-gay” ministries – a practice denounced as dangerous and harmful to young people by such groups as the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics – can still be easily accessed by students.

“One of the problems with this software is that it only allows students access to one side of information about topics that are part of the public debate right now, like marriage for same-sex couples,” said Karyn Storts-Brinks, a librarian at Fulton High School in Knoxville.

“Students who need to do research for assignments on current events can only get one viewpoint, keeping them from being able to cover both sides of the issue.  That’s not fair and can hinder their schoolwork,” she said.

No federal or state law requires school districts to block access to LGBT sites.  Tennessee law only requires schools to implement filtering software to restrict information that is obscene or harmful to minors.

About 80 percent of Tennessee public schools, including those in the Knox County and Metro Nashville districts, use filtering software provided by Education Networks of America, and the software’s default setting blocks sites ENA categorizes as LGBT the ACLU said.

The ACLU said it believes that most of the 107 Tennessee school districts that use ENA’s filtering software keep the LGBT category blocked.  ENA blocks access to a wide category of “LGBT” sites described on the organization’s website as ” Sites that provide information regarding, support, promote, or cater to one’s sexual orientation or gender identity including but not limited to lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender sites.

“When public schools only allow access to one side of an issue by blocking certain websites, they’re engaging in illegal viewpoint discrimination,” said Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director of the ACLU of Tennessee.

“Over a hundred other school districts in Tennessee use the same filtering software used in Metro Nashville and Knox County, and we’re eager to find out whether any of those systems are also violating students’ Constitutional rights by restricting access to LGBT sites.”

This week the “No on Prop 8″ site, which is fighting the proposed amendment in California, and the “Say No 2″ site fighting a similar ban in Florida, were hit by massive distributed denial of service attacks known as DoS.

The attacks brought down both sites for several hours.

In a denial-of-service attack, an attacker attempts to prevent legitimate users from accessing information or services. By targeting a computer and its network connection, or the computers and network of the sites, an attacker may be able to prevent someone from accessing e-mail, Web sites, online accounts such as banking, or other services that rely on the affected computer. 

The most common and obvious type of DoS attack occurs when an attacker “floods” a network with information.

The Sacramento-based “No on Prop 8″ campaign said the attack on its server came from California, Texas, New Jersey and Georgia. 

“The attacks to the site increased from a small number of hosts to dozens. As IP addresses of attackers were blacklisted, new IP addresses emerged and attacked,” the group said in a statement.

“I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of denials today from the Prop 8 campaign, but this is clearly an orchestrated attempt to tear down what has become one of the largest grassroots movements in California electoral history,” said Patrick Guerriero, No on Prop 8 Campaign Director. 

“We have reported this to the FBI and other federal authorities and we have secured our site in ways we never thought would be necessary. But make no mistake – this was an attack against individual rights, not just a Web site.”

The Florida “Say No 2″ campaign in a statement said the attack on their server came a crucial time. 

“Their attack was well timed since today is the last day we can take contributions. It’s obvious the supporters of Amendment 2 will stop at nothing to slow us down,” said campaign manager Derek Newton.

There is no direct evidence at this point to link groups supporting the proposed amendments to the attacks.  But those groups also have not condemned the attacks.

Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan were let go Tuesday, three days after a blog posted images of them taken from Fratmentv.com, a Web site featuring naked or partially clothed male athletes.

“The history of behavior of these men, including the current matter, does not reflect the standard of excellence we aspire to on and off the mat,” coach Mark Manning said in a statement. “We have outstanding student-athletes in our program and we will move forward in a positive manner toward our goals.

“I want to personally apologize for any embarrassment that may have been caused for our athletic department, the university and our fans.”

Manning didn’t address the nature of the wrestlers’ past transgressions, and didn’t immediately return a message left on his cell phone seeking comment.

Jordan and Donahoe have had a series of run-ins with the law in Lincoln. Jordan has paid fines for possessing or consuming alcohol as a minor, trespassing and assault, and Donahoe for maintaining a disorderly house and having an open alcohol container.

Donahoe did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment. The Associated Press has requested interviews with the men through the athletic department. Personal phone numbers couldn’t be found.

The athletic department became aware of the images on the Internet late last week, assistant athletic director for compliance Josh White said. Donahoe and Jordan were declared ineligible because they violated an NCAA rule that prohibits athletes from appearing in pictures for commercial use, White said.

Donahoe and Jordan would have to apply to the NCAA for reinstatement if they choose to wrestle for another school, White said.

Donahoe, who would be a senior, won the Big 12 championship at 125 pounds in 2008 and placed third in the NCAA tournament after winning the title the year before.

Jordan, a junior 133-pounder, was fourth in the Big 12 and failed to place at nationals this past season.

The Scarlet Project, a blog that touts itself for reporting “news, scandal and gossip” at the university, posted the pictures online but altered them so that they didn’t show full nudity. The blog reported that they were obtained from an anonymous person.

John Marsh, who operates Fratmentv.com and two related Web sites catering to gay men, said he’s spoken with Donahoe and Jordan and that both indicated they want to continue as college wrestlers. He said Donahoe was a “dynamite” wrestler.

“If Nebraska is going to be pigheaded and kick him off unreasonably,” Marsh said, “there has to be another wrestling program that’s going to want him.”

Marsh said most photo and video shoots are done in Los Angeles, where Fratmentv.com is based, but that some are done at other locations. Members of Fratmentv.com pay $24.99 for access to hundreds of images and videos.

Marsh wouldn’t say how much he pays models or how he hires them.

“It’s not money that they would be making working as a waiter,” he said. “They get well-compensated. It’s better than beer money.”

Marsh said his models typically don’t care about videos and pictures of them being seen on the Web.

“I’m in my mid 40s, and my generation has a stigma about porn,” he said. “The kids, the generation of the student-athletes, don’t have that stigma. They really don’t care.

“They’ve come from a Paris Hilton, Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson sex tape generation, Myspace pages. The shame and stigma aren’t there for them. They’re mostly worried about what their parents are going to think, because their parents think it’s horrifying.”