Gay students find a respite
At Naperville Central, a new club offers a have from the hostilities they can sometimes face.

By Tracy Dell'Angela, Tribune Staff Writer

The weekly meeting of Naperville Central High School's newest student group started with the usual fare - a few bags of munchies, a Web-site update, a discussion about a skit for a freshman program, a debate on how to publicize for new members and, of course, a little gossip.

But then the talk turned to the reality that explains why this simple gathering has become a lifeline, albeit a risky one, in the students' high school world.

The members detailed the times someone yelled "dyke" or muttered "fag" in the hallways. One girl told how her head was smashed into a water fountain after classmates learned of her involvement in the group, while another member outlined the ruse she has created to keep the club meetings a secret from her parents. And members joked about the fact that of the 600 membership fliers they've hung in the school since September, only about seven have not been ripped down.

The Gay-Straight Alliance was launched last fall at Naperville Central with a few members and one influential backer, the school's assistant principal, Pam George. Sister high school Naperville North had started its GSA a year earlier and has already weathered the heat from a rash of parent and student complaints.

"The GSA will make this hell a little more tepid for me," said Tom Wartell, a founding member and a senior who said he has endured four years of verbal and physical harassment at school since coming out when he was a freshman.

"If you hear enough negative stuff, and if it's never balanced by anything positive, you start to believe it," he said. "I thought I was a freak. I thought I was getting what I deserved. It's taken all my high school years to make a dent, but it's finally happening."

Naperville Central and Naperville North are not the only high schools to recognize the need to offer a safe place for gay and lesbian students. Nationally nearly 700 Gay-Straight Alliances and other related groups are registered with the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, a national organization dedicated to fighting homophobia in schools. Illinois has about 35 registered groups. The greatest concentration of organizations is in Massachusetts, where schools are required by law to address homosexual bias.

"This GSA model has really spread, and the numbers are increasing all the time," said Jim Anderson, spokesman for the New York-based group. "Ten years ago, few schools even acknowledged they had gay and lesbian students."

For George, the watershed moment arrived in September, after a conversation with a former student about how much harassment a gay friend endured. She asked the student to spread the word that she wanted to talk to gay and lesbian students about their school experience.

Over three weeks, more than 40 students showed up at George's door. Some stayed only a moment, and others talked for more than an hour. They all identified themselves as homosexual, and they were all scared. They told George they didn't feel safe in a school where "gay" is used as another word for "bad," where teachers ignore homophobic harassment or even encourage it.

"That sent up a flag for me," said George, who was a special-education teacher before she became Central's assistant principal four years ago. "If there are kids who don't feel safe here, then we need to do something."

George talked to Wartell and another senior, Meg Sievers, about starting a GSA chapter. After research on the Internet and contacting other student groups, the founders started holding meetings in October. Thanks to George's advocacy, the group was supported by Central's top administrators.

For the first couple of months, the members worked quietly on getting the word out, relying mostly on the grapevine and fliers. The group recently took a more public stance when it asked to be included in the club announcements broadcast weekly in the school. The GSA in May will be among a variety of organizations promoting a message of diversity to freshmen.

George said she knows that this kind of outreach might fuel a wave of protest and ignite fears the group is "recruiting" kids to be homosexual, which is what happened when Naperville North's fledgling group spoke to freshmen last spring.

The furor died down after North Principal Jack Lorenz made it clear he supported the group, which has become larger and more active this school year. North adviser Kermit Eby said the group includes about 25 members - who will appear in the school yearbook this spring - and is working on anti-discrimination proposals for consideration by the school board.

At Central, members' goals are just as ambitious, even if they are progressing in "baby steps." They bemoan that their club announcement was edited and celebrate the fact two popular seniors came to a recent meeting to find out more about homophobia.

Anna Sievers, one of GSA's more outspoken members, said it is important that the organization not be perceived as a gay-only group. She joined because she wanted to show support for her twin sister, Meg, who is a lesbian. As one of the group's straight members, Anna said she believes she can be a powerful ambassador when it comes to challenging homosexual bias because students and teachers don't dismiss her as having an agenda. She recalled the apologetic response she received after challenging a teacher who made comments in class suggesting homosexuality is deviant behavior.

Although George's exposure to the gay community and culture was limited before she decided to sponsor the group, she is getting a lot of underground support from her "silent partners" - Central teachers who have told George they are homosexual but are afraid to publicly support the organization. George said it would send a powerful message if one of these homosexual teachers could lead the group and be a positive role model, but she said she understands it is much safer for a non-homosexual educator to take that leadership role in the beginning.

"Kids have always come first for me," she said. "The issue is that they were gay and they were scared. That's what compelled me to get involved."

The group allows students to have a comforting place to shake off their fears. Junior David Soria said his involvement with GSA inspired him to open up to his parents about his sexual orientation, a decision he does not regret. "She told me it was the first time in her life she was happy," he said. "That just blew me away."

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