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
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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
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