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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2004)
Continued from Page 23 some teachers and administrators, says Lilje holm. This may explain why there is more resis In the meantime, the coalition is focusing tance to programs at the middle school level. on education, data collection and support ser In one recent coalition workshop, a facul vices for queer youth and their allies. The ty member said that homophobic remarks group has more than 40 members and includes were part of the culture these days and that individuals as well as organizations such as she couldn’t stop it every time she heard Love Makes a Family; Parents, Families and something in the halls or in the classroom. Friends of Lesbians and Gays chapters from Before Liljeholm could respond, another around the state; the Latino Family Services teacher sttxxJ up and said, “Yes, you can.” Coalition; the American That teacher did not ( ’ivil Liberties Union of accept disrespectful com Oregon; Planned Parent- ments in her classroom, luxxJ; Youth Suicide Pre and her students would vention tor Umatilla catch themselves and County; and rhe United apologize when they ( Lurch of Christ Central realized they had said Pacific Conference. something they shouldn’t The coalition conducts have said. workshops for faculty and In addition to educat administrators in schtxil ing faculty and communi districts around the state. ty members, the coalition They seek to promote offers support for students. awareness of the issues by In one Port land-area presenting research from school, a student request “Although Oregon has a bully law, reputable sources and by to start a GSA was ini it doesn’t go very far in actual telling the stories of indi tially denied. However, implementation” viduals who have suffered —Bonnie Tinker the city government had from harassment. recently passed a nondis They’ve had a lot of success using fact and crimination ordinance; the coalition had been story. “The combination moves peoples hearts present at the meeting and offered input. To and minds,” says Liljeholm. accommodate the ordinance, the school’s next Liljeholm says one of the biggest obstacles reaction was to eliminate all noncurricular is awareness. Many schools with well-intended clubs. Ultimately, at the advice of a youth but unaware staff will tell them, “We don’t advisory council, the school allowed students have any sexual minorities at our school, so we to form the GSA. don’t need a presentation just on those issues.” The presence of a GSA in schools is “There is a tremendous confusion between important. For Tinker, a GSA shows that sexual activity and sexual identity” on behalf of the school is headed in the right direction. II ILL & W REN, L L P Attorneys at Law eted, some queer parents may assume they are protecting their kids. Not so, says Tinker. “If you can get queer parents involved at the . grade school level, then you can have an empowered group” by the time the kids reach middle and high school, she says. Ultimately, though, anyone who cares about kids needs to rally behind making schools safer. Tinker says that making real change “requires people who aren’t parents or who are straight parents to find out what kind of protections are tn place for kids and to make themselves available as volunteers. ” jn K aren K udej is a Portland free-lance writer. Help your school say no to bullies he Oregon Safe Schools and Communi ties Coalition will play host to its third annual Oregon Safe Schools Training on Oct. 8 and 9 in Bend. This statewide training will empower youth and adult groups to return to their communities to initiate projects. As an incentive, the coalition will offer a $100 grant to each team that completes its project and submits a report of its effort. The coalition is also in the process of seek ing funds to initiate a statewide GSA Net work to link schools and community resources around Oregon. For more information on the conference or the coalition, contact Joyce Liljeholm at 503-232-4556 or jliljeho@teleport.com or visit the Internet site www.oregonsafeschools.org. T U WILL YOU BE ONE OF - YB "X THE 7O°/o? Personal Injuries Motor Vehicle Accidents After age 65, you have more than a 70% chance of needing some kind of long term care*. To learn how our Long-Term Care Insurance can help you handle the costs of extended care, just talk to your ncighborhtxtd State* Agent listed below. WE LIVE WHERE YOUR LIVE.™ Workers' Compensation & Work Injuries Employment Law & Discrimination I npaid ( .'ompensarion Social Security & Disability l.ayy Liljeholm says, “There are many youth who won’t come out but feel safer knowing the GSA exists.” Ayme Allison, a counselor at The Dalles Wahtonka Unified High School, helped start that schools GSA and serves as the club’s adviser. She comments: “The biggest chal lenges we have faced have been the religious community and their undying efforts to have the GSA banned from school. They are actu ally even willing to forgo all clubs just to get the GSA out.” So far, the GSA has been one of the most active clubs at the school and Allison says, “I know the students who helped start it have really felt empowered by it.” This year, two schixil districts in The Dalles merged, and the newly formed school board could put the club in jeopardy. Allison is keeping her eyes out for the issue to appear as an agenda item. “Basically it is more of an adult problem than a kid problem,” she says. Creating safe schtxils is a community effort—not strictly the responsibility of the schixils. Liljeholm says it is not enough to have a supportive administration, but also a schixd board that supports the safe schools movement. By educating community groups, the coalition creates allies that can, in turn, educate school boards. Tinker stresses the importance of commu nity members getting involved in the schools. She points out that schools have to work with tight budgets and need all the support they can get. “As long as Oregon schools are strapped for resources, it’s very difficult to invest in the learning environment,” says Tinker. Parent involvement is key. By staying clos Shawn Vorrath, Agent « 6713 NE 63rd St, Suite 102 • Vancouver, WA 98661 360 735-1452 • shawn@shawnvorrath.com ( .'nil Litigation Geoffrey G. Wren Edward J. 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