It seems to The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project that lack of LGBT-supportive information is common in Michigan as a whole, especially areas outside Detroit.
Contact the
Michigan Department of Education
608 West Allegan Street, Hannah Building
Lansing, MI 48933
with your ideas on statewide approaches to the problem.
The MDOE's website is at
Schools tackle the job of protection for gays
Task unites teachers, students, outsiders
BY TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM, Free Press Education Writer
The pink and white sticker may be smaller than a pencil case, but to Jo, a junior at Community High School in Ann Arbor, it carries the impact of a 20-foot neon marquee when stuck on the outside of a classroom door.
"Be yourself," it says to her. "You're safe here."
Like other gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers, Jo, who asked that her real name not be used, has learned to watch for signs that it's OK to let down her guard.
Kids can be cruel. So can teachers. Some people who wouldn't dream of using a racial epithet think nothing of punctuating a joke with a limp wrist, pronouncing something "soooo gay" or calling someone a faggot.
Those things are not allowed in the classrooms at Jo's school where the teacher displays a Safety Zone sticker.
"When I see one of those stickers, I feel like I'm at home, like I can kick off my shoes and sit on the couch," said Jo. "I don't have to worry about something slipping out."
While gay people of all ages sometimes run into harassment or even violence, experts say the teen years can be the worst. Yet many schools shy away from the topic.
"Our schools aren't safe for gay and lesbian students," said Frank Colasonti Jr., a chairman of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network of Detroit, which works to improve the school climate for gay students in the metro area.
A survey conducted by the group in 1997 found that half of responding Detroit-area schools had no services in place to support gay students.
That despite statistics indicating that gay teens are at much greater risk of depression, dropping out of school, abusing drugs and alcohol, and attempting suicide.
Experts say those problems aren't caused by being gay, but by the stress of growing up in a culture that says their sexual orientation is bad or wrong.
Suzanne Hobson, a professor of counseling at Eastern Michigan University, says gay students, like other teens, struggle to develop an identity separate from their parents' while coping with peer pressure and the desire to fit in. On top of that, they carry the burden of knowing that to develop their identity is to risk rejection and disdain.
The killing last month of Matthew Shepard, a gay 22-year-old University of Wyoming student, was extreme but hardly an anomaly, Hobson said. Shepard was robbed, beaten, burned, tied to a fence and left to die.
"The Shepard incident accentuates the realistic nature of these fears," Hobson said, adding that a 1990 study found that 41 percent of gay and lesbian teens reported having been victims of violence.
Many gay children and teens, she said, feel a mixture of fear, shame, curiosity and anger. A common response, at least for a time, is to bottle up the emotions to try to prevent anyone else from finding out.
"You feel really alone," said Kristine, 16, recalling the time before she came out to family and friends. The Livonia junior, who did not want her last name used, said she can understand why some turn to drugs or other unhealthy behavior to numb the pain.
"You're scared about yourself, because you don't know what you're feeling. And you're scared of everyone else finding out, and what they're going to say when they do."
Kristine said she was lucky. Her parents have been supportive, even helping her find a gay youth group so she could meet other teens. When she approached one of her counselors with some brochures for other students, he was eager to help.
But many others don't have that kind of support. One teen quoted in the report by the gay education network said high school "was one of the most hellish experiences of my life."
"I got hit, spat on, had books thrown at me," he said. One top of that, "one teacher kept telling me to act more like a man."
Colasonti, a counselor at Birmingham Groves High School, said many educators "are in denial. They think gay and lesbian students are out there, but not in their school."
Another problem is the fear of backlash from the public.
Tanya Hilgendorf, executive director of Ozone House, an Ann Arbor agency that tries to help runaway and homeless youths, says she thinks there's a misconception that if schools accommodate gays and lesbians, more teens will want to be gay.
"There are some people who think ...that homosexuality is catching," she said.
Because of this, it's very difficult for gay groups that could offer comprehensive youth services to get inside schools, said Diane Kavanagh, the youth program coordinator at Affirmations, a gay and lesbian community center in Ferndale.
Many schools are starting to tackle the issues themselves.
For example, the Macomb County Intermediate School District offers teacher training in the issues facing gay and lesbian teens, and offers suggestions for ways to address sexual orientation in class.
Patti Steele, who coordinates school health programs for the district, said it is part of a teacher's professional responsibility to help all children.
"We're not asking educators to advocate for a particular lifestyle, but to be able to help youngsters who come to them, often really in pain," she said.
At Groves High School in Birmingham, all incoming freshmen attend an anti-harrassment seminar that explains the school's strict policy that protects gay students.
Students at Community High in Ann Arbor formed a chapter of Gay/Straight Alliance during the summer, then asked teacher Cathy Bolton whether she would be their staff adviser.
"I asked, 'Why me? I'm a straight mother,' " Bolton said. "They said, 'Because you listen.' "
Now in its third year, the group, which includes both straight and gay members, has worked to support students as they come out in school and to raise understanding of sexual orientation.
It sponsors dances, maintains a school bulletin board and purchases the Safety Zone stickers that teachers can choose to put on their doors.
Members Dory Mead and Melissa Gibney, both juniors, said students learn about different sexual orientations whether or not they learn about them in school.
"But if they hear it from their friends, a lot of times it's, 'oh, this dirty thing,' not real information," said Mead. "If they learn from a teacher, they're learning the facts."
Tracy Van Moorlehem can be reached at 1-313-223-4534 or by E-mail at vanmoo@freepress.com
WHERE TO FIND HELP
If you are a teenager and would like to talk to someone about your sexual orientation, here's where you can turn:
National hot line for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender youth, 1-800-347-8336. Staffed from 7-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Ozone House Services for Youth and Families help line, 1-734-662-2222, anytime.
Affirmations gay and lesbian help line, 1-800-398-4297. Usually staffed 4 -9 p.m.
To talk with someone about issues related to schools, or to get a copy of "Bruised Bodies, Bruised Spirits," contact the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network of Detroit at 1-248-591-7233 or by E-mail at glsendet@aol.com
Detroit Free Press, November 6, 1998
What teachers can do
By Tracy Van Moorlehem
Five things experts suggest teachers do to make sure gay and straight students feel safe at school:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
"Talk does not cook rice." Chinese proverb.
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Last updated 11/6/98 by Jean Richter, richter@eecs.Berkeley.EDU