Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / September 2007

This is why they get harrassed. They're ALL pussy's. They
don't have the nads to stand up and fight, they run and tattle.
There will always be harrassment of deviants. My advice is
grow up and be a man or get used to it.

Harassed gay students call on schools to keep them safe
By Edith Brady-Lunny

BLOOMINGTON -- When Jordan Becker was in eighth grade, she learned
her
first lesson about how gay people can be treated in the classroom and
in life.

Three years ago, Becker was an openly gay student at Olympia Middle
School in Stanford. She got A's in her classes and was president of
the student council. Things changed, said Becker, after her
girlfriend's mother contacted school officials about the
relationship.

"The teachers pulled my friends out of class and said they couldn't
be
friends with me. At one point it got so bad the school had to call in
counselors to help me," said Becker, now a junior at Normal Community
West High School. At one low point during the ordeal, Becker said she
considered suicide.

Becker's mother, Rhonda Becker, said school officials rearranged her
daughter's schedule to separate the two girls. Teachers followed
Becker in the hallways and into the bathroom.

"When she was kicked off the student council without a reason, that
was the last straw," said Rhonda Becker.

With legal assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union, the
school district and Becker's family reached an agreement that
restored
Becker's student council position and her class schedule.

But bitter feelings about the incident remained, and the family has
since moved from the Olympia district into Unit 5. Becker helped
establish the Gay Straight Alliance at the Normal high school. Last
year, about 20 students attended meetings of the group, which helps
students explore sexual orientation issues, she said.

"Looking back, I realize that no one should have to go through what I
went through," said Becker.

As Olympia's new superintendent, Brad Hutchinson was not involved in
the handling of Becker's case.

The district does not condone abuse of students for any reason, he
said.

"Anything that's disrespectful to people or done to harm an
individual
in any way would not be acceptable," said Hutchinson.

GLBT population

The number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students,
referred to collectively as GLBT, is a growing segment of the school
population. National studies on the treatment of GLBT students
indicate that bullying and harassment of GLBT students by their
classmates is common.

According to the 2005 National School Climate Survey conducted by the
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 37.8 percent of students
experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual
orientation and 26.1 percent on the basis of how they express their
gender. Nearly one-fifth, or 17.6 percent, of students had been
physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation, and 11.8
percent were assaulted because of their gender expression.

The 2005 school survey, which focused on ensuring safety for all
students, also showed that GLBT students were five times more likely
than the general population to skip school because of safety
concerns,
and they were twice as likely to report that they were not pursuing
any post-secondary education.

Mathew Clark, a former student at Bloomington Junior High School,
said
he was tripped on the soccer field and ridiculed by other students
after he disclosed that he was gay. He will be attending a new school
this fall where he hopes things are better.

"I want the kids to be more open and accepting. Hopefully, if
something ever does happen, the staff won't feed it but stop it,"
said
the eighth-grader.

District 87 Superintendent Robert Nielsen declined to comment on the
specifics of Clark's situation. "I can assure you that every time
something was reported to the administration, it was handled
appropriately," said Nielsen.

Teaching respect

Teaching children to respect one another is a goal that begins on a
child's first day at school, according to Unit 5 Superintendent Gary
Niehaus. Students are taught that name calling, including names that
relate to a person's sexual orientation, is not acceptable, he said.

"Part of the process of diversity is getting to know the person next
to us and treating them respectfully," said Niehaus.

Unit 5 principals collect data several times a month on incidents of
bullying and other troubling behaviors, he said, as part of the
district's Positive Behavioral Intervention System. Among other
behaviors, the program helps children understand what language is
acceptable, he said.

In District 87, Nielsen said the district's population grows more
diverse every year. Several programs, including Character Counts,
focus on teaching students to respect their peers.

"We try to educate kids that being different is not bad," said
Nielsen.

The District 87 superintendent acknowledged that schools are not the
major influence in many children's lives. If parents express opinions
about GLBT people and other minorities that are contrary to what is
taught in the classroom, the school's job is more difficult, said
Nielsen.

"We do everything in our power to teach respect. The reality is that
students may get a different message at home," said Nielsen.

The Diversity Project, with its membership of McLean County students
from seventh grade through high school, encourages dialogue on many
topics. Project director Jeff Schwartz said students have initiated
discussions on gay rights issues several times.

"This is a topic that reminds me of race relations in the '40s and
'50s. It would be a crime for it to be written off as such. I think
(gay) kids really suffer because they don't know where to go," said
Schwartz, also the mayor of Downs.

Among the support groups for local GLBT students is Bloomington's
Open
Door Youth Center sponsored by the Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays of Bloomington Normal and the McLean County AIDS
Task Force. The downtown center, 313 N. Main St., is open Fridays
from
7:30 to 10:30 p.m.