NEW YORK CITY—People who think the great coastal cities of Los Angeles and New York are inherently more liberal than those in the center of the country might want to rethink the assumption in light of recent events that paint the major metropolis' as defenders of sexual intolerance. Los Angeles, of course, is currently engaged in a weird war against the adult entertainment industry as manifested in its determination to force condoms onto anyone who makes sexually explicit material, and in New York a female high school guidance counselor has been forced to file a lawsuit after she was summarily dismissed because of sexy, non-nude photos taken of her ... 17 years ago!
The counselor's name is Tiffany Webb, which we admit has a porn ring to it but is the real name of the 12-year veteran of the Department of Education, who was notified of her firing "days before she was to get tenure as an $84,200-a-year guidance counselor," according to the New York Post, which reported that Webb was fired after "ex-principal Andrea Lewis claimed that a student showed her photos of a scantily clad Webb."
The official reason given for the termination was "conduct unbecoming," which was described by the chancellor’s committee, which ruled by 2-1, thusly: “The inappropriate photos were accessible to impressionable adolescents. That behavior has a potentially adverse influence on her ability to counsel students and be regarded as a role model.”
However, the lone dissenter stated, “Her professional work as a guidance counselor has been outstanding, and she should not be punished for something that happened years ago.”
Webb, who has reportedly found a teaching job in New Jersey using a different name, not only did not dispute the fact that she had modeled lingerie and bikinis between the ages of 18 and 20, but mentioned the fact when she was applying for the job.
In fact, according to the Post, "She was investigated by the DOE three times—and twice spent a year in the “rubber room”—while officials probed the photos. Each time, she was cleared to return to work with students."
The paper also states she received "nothing but satisfactory ratings" working as a guidance counselor at Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers in downtown Manhattan.
“I am a dedicated professional and enjoyed being a guidance counselor,” she told the Post. “I did my job well, and my students and parents thought very highly of me. I would love to return to the DOE and resume the career I have chosen to help and guide students.”
Her lawyer—who said none of the photos still being circulated on the internet are authorized and many have been Photoshopped so that Webb's head is on a different body—has understandably termed his client's termination "unconscionable."
In 2008, Webb, using the first name "Tiffani," was profiled by The Black Urban Times, which had named her their "Model of the Moment." In the profile, she said she had been a model since tha age of five, and added, "Present day, I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and have been working with teens for the past ten years within the school and prison system. I am currently still pursuing my acting/hosting career and host a news show on ESPN2 called 'The Action.' I still have some modeling pictures out there but am no longer actively pursuing modeling."
Considering the fact that Webb only modeled lingerie and bikinis, is it safe to assume that she would have suffered the same fate had she been, say, a Miss America contestant?
Image: Tiffany Webb, courtesy of Black Urban Times.
