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