Dear Safe Schools Coalition members and friends,
(1) Gay bashing rife at SHS, say students
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By Hillary Chabot, Journal Staff
Somerville Journal, October 17, 2002
affiliated with the Boston Herald
http://www.townonline.com/somerville/news/local_regional/sj_newsjgaybash10172002.htm
Every day, John, a 16-year-old Somerville High student, goes to school wondering what other students might heave at him that day. Will it be slurs, trash or both?
"Every day I get off the bus and I think, 'What are they going to say today?' I wonder, 'Are they going to throw a lit cigarette butt at me?' No one should have to feel that way," said John, who is gay and a member of the high school's Gay Straight Alliance.
John, who asked that his last name not be used, said Somerville High School is an unsafe place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. He and other gay students interviewed by the Journal say harassment remains a problem, even though an apparent hate crime that occurred last month in Davis Square has thrown a spotlight on gay bashing, and school and city officials say they are doing everything they can to make kids feel safe.
One of the students charged with yelling slurs and assaulting gay teens in Kenny Park on Sept. 13 had attended Somerville High, yet school officials still haven't done enough to address student harassment in the school, John said. The Gay Straight Alliance has asked that a student assembly be held to discuss the dangers of GLBT harassment, and they have pointed out harassment hot spots such as the MBTA bus stop on the corner of Highland Avenue and School Street.
Although GSA students said they are not getting enough support from the school, they said that meeting with Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay last March was helpful, and that she had done many things they requested, like including books about gay issues in city libraries.
According to Nora, another student who would not give her last name, there's "a lot of bus stop harassment" before and after school and nothing is being done about it.
"We told [high school officials] that a lot of incidents happen there, but they still don't send anyone down there," she said. According to the students, a faculty member at the bus stop in the mornings and afternoons would reduce the harassment incidents.
High School principal Thomas Galligani said no students have told him the bus stop is a high-harassment area. He will now try to have a faculty member patrol the stop, but because the stop is not on school grounds, the school has a limited authority
Most importantly, GSA students said, the high school must change its harassment policy in the student handbook, which explains the rules of the school and possible punishments for breaking those rules. The current application of those punishments is hypocritical, said Sophie, another student in the alliance.
"Some (students) have gotten an in-house suspension for a racial slur, but when they yell slurs at us, they get a warning," Sophie said.
Galligani said that there is no double standard for harassment punishments, and that penalties are decided on a case-by-case basis. "We have to make punishment decisions based on the facts of the case," Galligani said.
GSA students complained that the rules regarding harassment are too vague, and that the handbook should at least address "gay bashing," specifically. "It mentions guy/girl sexual harassment and racial harassment, but it's not specific on gay bashing," John said.
Harassment at the high school, most GSA students feel, could be stopped if students were educated about sexual-orientation lifestyles. That way teachers and school administrators wouldn't be constantly burdened with monitoring and disciplining students.
"It really is the kids who make up the atmosphere of the school," John said. That's why, GSA students said, a school wide assembly about GLBT tolerance is essential and why GLBT topics should be included in many classes, not just health.
Galligani said that the school plans on holding a series of assemblies this year regarding GLBT tolerance and education. An assembly was held on Tuesday, GSA students said, but they don't feel like it addressed their issues.
"The assembly (Tuesday) was the beginning of things. We didn't address those issues right away because we're working up to them. The assembly was starting with basic respect, which I think is a good place to start with," Galligani said. He also mentioned that GLBT studies may be included in social studies classes in the junior and senior grades.
Even after the Davis Square hate crime, students say they still experience incidents at the high school. Most recently a student brought a gay friend into the school to show him the Gay Straight Alliance billboard and students sitting at a nearby table yelled, "'Oh my god, look at those two pickles,' and then said, "What does it feel like to be gay?"
However, GSA students said they are grateful for the funding for the group from Superintendent Al Argenziano, and the help that they receive from sympathetic teachers. According to Galligani, not many other school put that much money towards GLBT groups.
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(2) For gay teens, a place to call home: State facility third in nation to address their specific needs
By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff
Boston Globe, October 22, 2002
Box 2378, Boston, MA, 02107
(Fax:617-929-2098 ) (E-Mail:letter@globe.com )
( http://www.boston.com/globe )
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/295/metro/For_gay_teens_a_place_to_call_home+.shtml
WALTHAM - He seems like a teenager spared some of the superficial agonies of adolescence: His complexion is clear, his body looks full and strong, and his deepening voice rarely cracks.
But his transition into adulthood hasn't been easy. The 16-year-old, who is trying to break an addiction to drugs, was arrested on charges of stealing from a liquor store and has had random sexual encounters with older men.
Now, as one of four residents in New England's first group home for gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual youth, he is trying to get his life on track. While many gay teens are rejected by their families, he considers himself lucky to have supportive parents. He said he dreams of the day when he's ready to rejoin them in a suburb of Boston, particularly for lazy summer afternoons in the backyard.
''My dad's cooking at the barbecue grill, my mother's sitting under the sun, and I'm practicing my golf putting,'' said the youth, who asked to remain anonymous.
For now, his residence is a stately Federal-style brick home newly dedicated to helping sexual minorities in state custody.
The program, which opened earlier this month, is the third of its kind in the nation, modeled after programs in Los Angeles and New York. The group home, sponsored by the Home for Little Wanderers, a nonprofit group that helps at-risk children, will eventually serve 12 male and female residents.
The teens who qualify to live here are a tiny fraction of those in state custody, but youngsters like them are often the most vulnerable to homelessness and self-destructive behavior.
One recent study of homeless youth in New York City found that 40 percent of the teens identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
A Massachusetts report found that nearly half of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth have considered suicide, and nearly 30 percent have attempted suicide. About one in four has been physically threatened with a weapon in school.
''Lots of these teens are depressed, not because they're gay, but because of the reaction to it,'' said Rob Woronoff, director of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender services and peer programs at the Home for Little Wanderers.
The teenagers who live in the home - three gay males and a transgendered teen who was born male but who identifies as female - will try to create a new domestic life in a place with strict rules, daily chores, and 24-hour staff supervision. They attend Waltham High School, and return home to help cook meals, clean dishes, fold laundry, and organize the living room.
While the teens say they are concerned about how they will fare under the constraints, they say the beauty of their new home is helping them adjust. Their home is set in a bucolic section of town. The backyard has an expansive rolling lawn.
The first-floor rooms are used as common space, the second-floor as bedrooms for males, and the third-floor for females. The program's transgendered teen - who said she was kicked out of her parents' house by her traditional father - lives on the third floor.
''Once, my dad found me with a dress on, and he was off the wall,'' said the teen, wearing makeup, manicured nails, and a halter top.
James Palmer, 18, said he was also thrown out of his family's house. He said his parents discovered e-mails he had been exchanging with one of his lovers. When Palmer returned home that day, he said his mother threatened him.
''`You're going to be straight or you're not going to live here anymore,''' Palmer quoted her as saying.
The teens said they knew they were different as early as third grade. When classmates started to suspect they were gay, the fighting and name-calling began.
Several admitted to psychological and substance-abuse problems; all of them smoke cigarettes.
For Palmer and the transgendered teen, the deepest pain comes from their families' rejection. Several of the teens said they also felt badly that their problems caused their parents pain.
Chris Montes, 15, said his parents are trying to understand his new life, but want for him to become independent and emotionally stable. He said he believes his struggles with his sexual orientation are not an issue for his parents, both of whom work in education.
''They are trying to accept me,'' Montes said.
The group home costs about $72,000 a year per child, roughly the average annual cost of a typical residential placement in the state system, said Michael MacCormack, spokesman for the state Department of Social Services.
DSS pays roughly $700,000 a year for the program, with the Home for Little Wanderers contributing about $80,000 a year.
Shantanette Patrice, director of the program, said the staff also focuses on teaching the teens the skills of everyday living. She said the goal is to have them rejoin their families or a foster family, or live on their own when they are old enough.
Staff members teach the youngsters everything from folding laundry to cooking to watering plants, particularly important since neighbors brought by a house-warming gift:a pot of bright yellow chrysanthemums.
* Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.
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