Expert on gay youth comes to Boulder
Boulder County's Open Door Fund sponsoring events

By Elana Ashanti Jefferson, Camera Staff Writer

The median age these days for youngsters to "come out of the closet" is 15, according to Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

"A lot of what's creating change in our schools is that students are coming out at a younger and younger age," Jennings said Monday. "School systems are being forced to come to terms with this issue."

This week, Jennings -- considered by many a leading expert on school issues related to gay youth -- visits Boulder for two community functions.

The first is a fund-raising dinner for Boulder County's Open Door Fund at the Spice of Life Events Center on Wednesday. The $75 per person event, which also features a silent auction, begins at 5:30 p.m. The second is a Thursday morning breakfast for local educators that's being paid for by the Open Door Fund.

Retired Boulder High teacher Jean Hodges, who leads a Boulder Valley School District advisory group called the Safe Schools Coalition, said the breakfast will be the first time more than 70 local teachers and school administrators have gotten together to learn about gay youth issues.

"(Jennings) is a major spokesman for what's happening in schools across the country," Hodges said. "The principals and administrators who are attending the breakfast really are setting a precedent."

The Safe Schools Coalition aims to safeguard gay and lesbian rights in public schools. Hodges said at some high schools that means helping students set up gay/straight alliances. In the middle schools, the coalition is looking at starting non-discrimination policies. And in elementary schools, Hodges hopes to start training educators how they can expand traditional notions of family.

"One of the things I want educators to understand is that this is an education issue," Jennings said. "What we're talking about here is creating schools where every kid can get an education."

Jennings co-founded GLSEN after spending 10 years as a high school teacher in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He said the experience gave him unique insights into the troubles faced by gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered young people.

For instance, GLSEN conducted a National School Climate Survey last year that determined 69 percent of gay and lesbian students are sexually, verbally or physically harassed at school. Jennings said at least half of those students are harassed on a daily basis. One in four of them are threatened or injured with a weapon; one in five miss school at least once a month; and 33 percent of them try to take their own lives.

"We're talking about a group of kids who are uniquely disadvantaged," he said. "We really have a crisis here where kids are being hurt."

Jennings hopes to help educators in and around Boulder realize that this problem hits close to home.

"My fear is that people in Boulder might think this is just a problem along the Front Range or in Wyoming," he said. "Part of the illusion is that (schools) think they really don't have a problem."

For reservations for Wednesday's Open Door Fund dinner, call (303) 442-0436.

· Contact Elana Ashanti Jefferson at (303) 473-1341 or jeffersone@thedailycamera.com.

Return to P.E.R.S.O.N. Project Home Page