By now, most children have returned to school for academic endeavors and life experiences that many will look back on as “the best years of their lives.” But for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) students, the upcoming semesters may be more filled with anxiety and harassment. Earlier this year, my colleague Laura Nguyen addressed the fatal shooting of Lawrence King in a post about coming out and the workplace King’s death is a reminder that some school hallways are not safe havens of study and collegiate interaction for all students.
As the young “freshman” of the Out Front blogging team, I perked up when reading Amy Wooten’s recent article in the Windy City Times about Chicago’s proposed LGBTQ and allies school. How great would it have been to study Latin or partake in physical education in an environment that was supportive? More smiles and greetings in the hallways instead of glares and shoves? While I am aware of the Harvey Milk school in New York City that supports an inclusive, safe learning environment for gay, lesbian and bisexual students, having a similar school in Chicago’s own backyard brings greater examination of the LGBTQA school concept – and how our community communicates about this issue with local government agencies, the business community and amongst ourselves.
The Pride Campus high school as proposed by the Greater Lawndale Little Village School for Social Justice would offer Chicagoland’s gay and questioning youth and their student allies college preparatory courses in a safe, non-violent atmosphere. With the final decision on the proposal in October and a community hearing scheduled for this Thursday at the Center on Halsted, Pride Campus’ supporters have already began speaking out and citing safety statistics in support of the concept.
In 2003, a Chicago Public School District survey noted that gay and lesbian students are three times more likely to miss school than their straight peers because they feel unsafe. Similar studies by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network offer more perspective:
- A study from 2006 reported that 35 percent of Illinois students said sexual orientation was the most common grounds for bullying, while almost 75 percent of those students have heard anti-gay remarks from classmates at their school.
- A 2008 survey of school principals found only 33 percent of secondary school principals reported a lesbian or gay student would feel safe at their school, as compared to 64 percent of students from religious minority groups and 76 percent of minority racial students.
Even with these numbers and favorable support from Chicago Public School and LGBT community leaders, the voluntary Pride Campus concept has also received opposition from inside and outside the gay community. Counterarguments from LGBT leaders and local conservative organizations cite segregation and misuse of publics funds.
However Chicago Public School’s administrators and school board decide in October on Pride Campus, the road ahead will require open communication between teachers, administrators, students, and the community at large about the purpose and benefits of an LGBT-specific campus. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on LGBT-specific schools? You can read more about Pride Campus here and let us know your opinion in the comments below.
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While I feel that the school would foster some great programs and awareness initiatives, I can’t help feeling that it’s segregation. Perhaps some of the funding allocated for the proposed school could be used for education and awareness initiatives for staff and students? I feel that while the new school would provide these kids a safer environment to learn, it does not help the harmful ignorance that would, without education, continue among others at these schools.
Thanks for sharing a good idea, Katie. Many of the school’s supporters are looking at it as one of many options and efforts to make Chicago schools and students more inclusive of LGBT students. Your idea fits well with that line of thought.