BOULDER, Colo., June 1 (UPI) -- Colorado high school students said they want an apology from TV host Bill O'Reilly, who was irked by a panel that critics said encouraged sex and drug use.
Boulder High School students Mansur Gidfar, 15, and Patrick Garrett, 17, have gathered 300 signatures so far on a petition asking O'Reilly to apologize for making "borderline slanderous" remarks on his show, "The O'Reilly Factor," The Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera reported Friday.
O'Reilly could not be reached for comment, the newspaper said.
The petition said the conservative talk show host damaged the reputation of the high school and its officials, the city of Boulder and the Conference on World Affairs. Gidfar and Garrett said they plan to collect signatures throughout the city before presenting the petition to O'Reilly.
The school panel included discussions on sexual intimacy and experimentation, as well as the benefits of legalizing drugs.
Rick Bair, a Colorado resident and O'Reilly viewer, said he found the panel discussion offensive and didn't think O'Reilly was out of line in calling attention to it.
"I don't think he was defaming Boulder High," he said. "I'm in agreement with him that what they told the kids of our community to go out and do was completely amoral."
