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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2003)
tetxuary 7. 2003 ■ adult leaders from across the state to teach them how to present workshops in their communities. During the past two years, Franks, Lil- jeholm and other advocates have con ducted more than two dozen presenta tions in places such as Eugene, Bend, Hood River, Salem and Portland. These safe school pioneers sought change with in the culture of their academic halls by raising awareness of queer youth issues, ranging from kids feeling invisible and left out of the curriculum to incidents of property damage and physical violence. Although some Oregon schools do offer a safe haven for sexual minorities, Liljeholm says the statistics are more drastic for queer youth than their hetero sexual peers, especially when looking at dropout rates, unsafe sex practices, sub stance abuse and other ways in which kids try to deal with the pain of abusive into action with a hope to quell the queer fear treatment at school. of our schools. Looking back on her own experience as well as those o f her classmates, Wagner says the hardest part o f academic life for queer and questioning students is the fear o f coming out. S o most remain in the closet, where they feel depressed, unsafe and angry. ith support from Equity Foundation (see Wagner says that when kids call you queer, sidebar), the recently formed Oregon Safe the immediate thought isn’t always fear of Schools and Communities Coalition has an harassment or violence but rather an emotion ambitious plan to train al fear that what they’re teams of adults and kids saying is true, that they “I'm g o in g from across the state to recognized your sexuali to lo u ve b e h in d create positive academic ty before you did. Or e n v i r o n m e n t s — not maybe that classmates a n e w g e n e ra tk >n only for the queer and have pigeonholed you o! q u e e r y o u th questioning, but for all into a sexual identity students. Joyce Lilje- you weren’t quite sure of w illin g to ste| ) out holm, a retired school yet. Either way, you’re as w h o th e y are counselor, and Molly scared to accept yourself Franks, a leader of the because you don’t have anc 1 ta lk a lx m t it. W ashington County any positive queer role Il 1 d o n 't try Pride Project, have models. to m a k e a el tange, helped launch the non “ It doesn’t have to be profit with its proactive physical to be a prob h o w ra n 1 e \ | x x I mission of creating safe lem,” she says. “Fear is o th e rs to?" spaces where "every fam fear.” ily can belong, every But through efforts by — Ami nu I d WagniT educator can teach and educators to reach out to every child can learn queer youth, she has found regardless of actual or perceived sexual orienta an affirmative mentor in Franks. Now, Wagner tion or gender identity.” wants to set an example for others that it’s OK to Now a cross section of public and private be queer or to question your sexuality or gender. organizations, the coalition grew out of a train-, “I’m going to leave behind a new generation ing session funded hy the Oregon Department of of queer youth willing to step out as who they Education in March 2001. Held in Eugene, that groundbreaking workshop brought together 40 Continued on Page 26 Courage ■ in the classroom by Timothy Krause • Photos by Marty Davis H A statewide coalition will teach educators and students how to make Oregon schools safe for all ate graffiti is scrawled on the sidewalk of Portland’s Lincoln High School A drawing of a triangle with a slash through it targets a boy by name and reads, Following the example, “Die, asshole.” 1 showing your work A girl on a suburban dance team is left alone in the locker room because her teammates refuse to change clothes in front of a “dyke.” A student in Vancouver, Wash., sits in the high school cafeteria and in the course of a short lunch period hears more than 60 anti-gay comments. That's so gay. Stop acting so queer. Faggot. Harassment and discrimination are just part of another day in many area schools, where queer and questioning stu dents often feel unsafe, unwelcome, hidden in a closet and left alone. Kids ask themselves: Who wants to go to school when you are afraid of being beaten up? Who can concentrate on learning anything when you have to put up with teasing, taunting and prejudice? What is the point of bettering yourself through education when the environ ment around you is demeaning and you’re scared to just be yourself? more likely to report a suicide attempt than Slicks and stones their nonharassed peers. And they were four and words that hurt times more likely than their nonharassed peers t’s like you’re living in a bubble,” says Annan- Ida Wagner, a 17-year-old queer senior at Sunset High Schtx>l in Beaverton. “People can get pretty close to you, but until the bubble gets popped, they’ll never get there. It’s very lonely and very isolating.” And, for some, even violent. A recent Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educa tion Network survey of queer youth found that nearly one out of three kids had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In 1999, the Oregon Health Division found that an estimated 20,000 high school students statewide reported that they had been targeted with anti-gay harassment at school or traveling to and from school. These same students were also three times to report that their suicide attempts resulted in medical care from a doctor or nurse. Ron Bloodworth serves as a liaison between the state’s youth suicide prevention office and various agencies, schools and organizations. He says, “Research evidence is clear that gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans youth are at a greater risk than their hetero sexual- peers, and the strongest indications are the harassment, social stigma and marginal ization that many youth experience.” Reducing harassment in schools and com munities through the creation and implemen tation of inclusive policies, staff training and curricula is one of 15 strategies recommended by the Oregon Department of Human Serv ices in its Oregon Plan for Youth Suicide Pre vention. Now, a new alliance of advocates has stepped forward to help put the state’s strategy “Some (instructors make it clear that y can’t be disrespected.... But teachers also need to make it clear why. ‘Don’t say that’ isn’t enough.” — M a tt i i ^ c ^ t
