HALLWAYS OF HATE: Back to school means a return to torture for
by Jon Shigemura
09-07-2006

As a female to male transgender individual who is sexually attracted to women, T. has frequently been harassed and physically attacked by classmates while attending public school. Last year he was a freshman at Roosevelt High School in the city of St. Louis.

“It just started off that one day I was getting picked on because of something I’m wearing, or the way I’m acting,” T. said.

At first T. was hesitant to report the incidents to his teachers and his principal.

Over the course of several weeks, the harassment escalated in frequency and severity. Initially, confrontations occurred on school grounds. Later his harassers would follow him from school as he traveled on public transportation and attack him once he exited the bus. When he reported the matter to school officials, his complaints went unresolved. Frustrated, T. eventually filed seven complaints with the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

At one point, his mother called the police because she was concerned for his safety.

T. found himself caught in a desperate cycle which often traps youth who are harassed due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation. It worsens when students are suspended from school for fighting with their bullies or for skipping class to avoid harassment.

“If you get suspended, you’re not in school. If you’re not in school, you don’t learn anything. When it comes to taking the test, you don’t know anything,” T. said.

In January, T. was suspended for 10 days following a fight that involved three other students.

Upon his return to school, T. did not receive credit for his first semester of high school. He decided to transfer to Gateway Institute of Technology rather than resume classes at Roosevelt.

“I haven’t had any problems at Gateway ... for a school that doesn’t have a [Gay Straight Alliance], they have a very wise LGBT population,” T. said.

T. now plans to attend night school to obtain the missing credits necessary for his high school diploma.

T. has decided to channel his personal hardship into political action. This summer, he signed up to be a regional coordinator for GLSEN. In that role, he responds to complaints of harassment submitted by students through GLSEN’s Web site. He encourages students who are being harassed to promptly address the situation.

“Don’t do like I did, and wait a couple of months and pray that it will go away,” T. said.

T.’s advice is echoed by Jim Madigan, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal. Madigan has represented youth who have experienced harassment and discrimination due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation. He stresses that the most critical step to stop harassment is to notify school officials.

“A school can’t be liable to stop harassment if the school isn’t on notice that the harassment is occurring,” Madigan said.

Madigan urges students to take a proactive approach to stop harassment. He advises them to research their school’s anti-harassment policy, to document incidents of harassment and to track the school’s response.

If students are unsatisfied with their school’s response, they may contact Lambda Legal who will either become involved or refer them to a local attorney. Lambda Legal accepts complaints from students nationwide submitted by e-mail and telephone. The organization can also help closeted students alert school officials of harassment without revealing the student’s identity.

“We get thousands of calls every year, and we get a considerable number from Missouri,” Madigan said.

Some GLBT advocates believe that promoting greater social acceptance of GLBT individuals in schools is an effective means to prevent incidents of harassment.

In St. Louis, local chapters of GLSEN, Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays (PFLAG) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) work in conjunction to offer a free workshop called “Teaching Respect for All.”

Since its inception, more than 50 Teaching Respect for All workshops sessions have been offered to school teachers and administrators.

“It is always great to hear educators talk to each other about LGBT issues, some for the very first time,” said Scott Emanuel, Public Education Manager for the ACLU of Eastern Missouri.

“Overall, when students feel safe and supported, when teachers have knowledge and commitment and administrators take all harassment seriously and institute inclusive policies, that’s when we know that the system is working,” Emanuel said.

Twenty-year-old Emily Riley has helped conduct some of the workshops. She knows from firsthand experience some of the difficulties that GLBT students face when they are harassed.

“Most of my high school career I was always being called names. Just basically ‘homo’ and other derogatory terms,” said Riley, who came out as a lesbian while she was a high school freshman.

Initially she did not protest such degrading treatment until she attended a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) conference. The conference inspired her to form a GSA at Parkway North High School five years ago.

She believed that having a GSA group at her school could empower students combat homophobia and advocate for GLBT civil rights. By that point, Riley also recognized that the harassment she experienced began to adversely affect her academic performance.

“Sometimes, I wouldn’t be completely focused in a class if I was having problems, and then my grades would decline,” Riley said.

Riley enlisted the assistance of GLSEN to overcome the objections raised to her GSA proposal by school administrators. After she formed the GSA, Riley introduced the Day of Silence to her school. On a designated day each year, students would protest anti-gay harassment and discrimination by not speaking aloud.

“The first year we did it, it didn’t go over so well,” Riley said.

She recalls that some participants were taunted by classmates and called upon by teachers to answer questions. These reactions, however, did not discourage Riley.

After the first Day of Silence, Riley continued to encourage classmates to join the GSA. Attendance doubled at the meetings within a year. This sparked greater interest and participation in the following year’s Day of Silence.

“The second year that we did it, which was my senior year, it was really successful,” Riley said.

You can e-mail Jon Shigemura at JShigemura@gmail.com.

LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES