GSAFE e-news

              GSAFE Gay Straight Advocates for Education
Guilford County, NC November 10, 2005
Welcome to the first edition of GSAFE E-News. We are excited to introduce our new
organization, GSAFE, Gay Straight Advocates for Education. As an organization we are dedicated
to the belief that schools should be positive and supportive environments for students, faculty
and staff who are or are perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Local News
GSAFE was incorporated on August 26, 2005. We have been busy since our creation.
 Our first public meeting was a review of resource materials available on loan to individuals
or groups. We have a wide selection of videos and books available.
 We gave a presentation to a class at A&T in November and Annette and Gary are doing a
presentation to a class at UNCG next week.
 The GSAFE Student Network is up and running. Headed by Annette Green, the group
provides a monthly meeting for high school students who are interested in improving the
LGBT environment in their schools. Look for more in upcoming issues about their work.
 Holiday Celebration. December 12th is the date for our upcoming Holiday Celebration. It
is a potluck from 7 pm – 9:30 pm and will be at the home of Gary Palmer, 1822 W. Friendly
Ave., Greensboro. (271-8428). All supportive individuals are welcome to attend.
North Carolina News
November 3, 2005
State School Board Fails LGBT Students
Removes protected categories from Counseling, Social Work standards
Raleigh - This morning the State Board of Education removed language from their revisions to the
professional standards for school counselors and school social worker that would have ensured
these professionals had an understanding of diversity, including sexual orientation and gender
identity. MORE
National News (Provided by PFLAG)
Student Harassment Verdict Upheld :
Court finds student was run out of school for not conforming
ARTHUR S. LEONARD Gay City News 10/27/05
Chief Judge John W. Lungstrum of the U.S. District Court for Kansas has affirmed a jury verdict
for $250,000 in damages in favor of Dylan J. Theno, who was subjected to such severe and
pervasive homophobic harassment that he dropped out of high school. Ruling on October 18,
Lungstrum rejected a post-trial motion by the Tonganoxie Unified School District to set aside the
jury verdict. Lungstrum had previously rejected the school district’s pre-trial motion for summary
judgment on June 24, as well as a subsequent motion for reconsideration by the school district.
MORE
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Calif. School Settles Dispute Over Gay Student Stories
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 4, 2005 5:00 pm ET
(Los Angeles, California) East Bakersfield High School students will publish a series of articles
about sexual orientation in the November edition of the award-winning school newspaper, The
Kernal, editors announced today.
The articles will be published November 4 as a result of an ongoing lawsuit against the Kern High
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School District. MORE
GSAFE PO BOX 41044 GREENSBORO, NC 27404 WWW.GSAFE.ORG
E-mail: info@gsafe.org Phone: (336) 271.8428
Copyright 2005
LGBT Education & Youth Resources
Greensboro
 GSAFE 33.271.8428 www.gsafe.org
 PFLAG Greensboro 336.852.8489
 GLASS 336.272.6053k
Elon
 PFLAG Elon 336.584.7225
Winston-Salem
 PFLAG Winston-Salem 336.760.8865
www.pflagwinstonsalem.org
North Carolina
 Safe Schools NC www.safeschoolsnc.com
National
 GLSEN www.glsen.org
 Safe Schools Coalition
www.safeschoolscoalition.org
Full Text of Stories
Student Harassment Verdict Upheld :
Court finds student was run out of school for not conforming
ARTHUR S. LEONARD Gay City News 10/27/05
Chief Judge John W. Lungstrum of the U.S. District Court for Kansas has affirmed a jury verdict
for $250,000 in damages in favor of Dylan J. Theno, who was subjected to such severe and
pervasive homophobic harassment that he dropped out of high school. Ruling on October 18,
Lungstrum rejected a post-trial motion by the Tonganoxie Unified School District to set aside the
jury verdict. Lungstrum had previously rejected the school district’s pre-trial motion for summary
judgment on June 24, as well as a subsequent motion for reconsideration by the school district.
Theno’s claim was that the school district had violated Title IX of the Education Amendments Act
of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination by schools that receive federal funding, by
demonstrating deliberate indifference to the severe and pervasive gender-based harassment that
he suffered at the hands of fellow students.
The opinions in the case do not specify Theno’s sexual orientation, although his case was similar
to many cases involving gay students. According to Lungstrum’s account of the evidence,
classmates began to harass Theno in the seventh grade, and the pattern of harassing comments,
gestures, and name-calling accelerated through eleventh grade, leading him to drop out of
school. Even though Theno’s father visited school administrators in an attempt to get them to
address the issue, no effective action was taken.
Theno was characterized in the evidence as a non-conformist in several respects. He wore an
earring and styled his hair differently from the other teenage boys in his small, rural Kansas high
school. Although he played football briefly in the seventh grade, he dropped out after a knee
injury, leading fellow students to call him a “flamer” and a “faggot.” Despite this pressure, he did
not participate in other team sports, preferring to concentrate on his passion for Tae Kwan Do, a
Korean style of karate, for which he earned medals. Another student started a false rumor that
Theno had been caught masturbating by a teacher in the bathroom, and the rumor dogged him
for the rest of his time as a student.
In fact, trips to the bathroom became intensely stressful for Theno, as students would call him
names and peer over the top of restroom stalls, ostensibly to make sure he was not
masturbating. Theno suffered sustained ridicule in the student lunchroom, with one boy in
particular making demonstrative use of a banana to illustrate his shouted claims that “Dylan likes
men” and “Dylan sucks cock.” Students would regularly spit on the walls and then shout that
Theno had just passed by.
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Though much of the harassment took place in the presence of teachers, they did not punish the
guilty parties, instead sometimes laughing along with them. In some cases, Theno was provoked
into fighting back physically, and was several times subjected to more onerous punishment than
his persecutors. According to medical testimony at trial, Theno suffered psychological and
physical symptoms as a result of the harassment, until he felt compelled to drop out of school.
Lungstrum instructed the jury that it could rule in favor of Theno only if it concluded that he had
proved that the harassment was due to his gender, that it was severe and pervasive enough to
create a hostile environment that deprived him of equal educational opportunity, and that school
administrators were aware of the problem and failed to make any meaningful attempt to deal
with it. Lungstrum specifically embraced the “gender stereotyping” theory that has been
developed by federal courts in workplace cases under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, under which a
person harassed for failing to conform to stereotypical gender roles has suffered sex
discrimination.
The jury concluded for Theno on all points.
In its post-trial motion, the school district argued that the evidence did not support Theno’s
claims, contending that he was being harassed for being different, not because of his gender. The
school district argued that in this context being called a “faggot” and a “pussy” was no different
from being called a “geek” or a “spaz,” and did not evidence gender stereotyping. Such language
is common among teenage boys, the district contended.
After summarizing the evidence in detail, Lungstrum concluded, “in this case, the harassment of
plaintiff was pervasively comprised of crude sexual gestures, innuendos, teasing, and name
calling. All of this contributed to a sexually-charged hostile environment that appeared to have
been motivated by his peers’ belief that he failed to conform to stereotypical gender expectations
for a teenage boy in their community. Motivated by his failure to conform to those expectations,
they used his sexuality to denigrate his masculinity.” BACK
Calif. School Settles Dispute Over Gay Student Stories
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 4, 2005 5:00 pm ET
(Los Angeles, California) East Bakersfield High School students will publish a series of articles
about sexual orientation in the November edition of the award-winning school newspaper, The
Kernal, editors announced today.
The articles will be published November 4 as a result of an ongoing lawsuit against the Kern High
School District.
"I knew this day would come," said Maria Krauter, who wrote one of the articles and planned and
edited the other four in the series.
"We had the support of our parents, the parents of those interviewed, the entire editorial staff,
our journalism advisor and even the editorial board of the Bakersfield Californian. I'm glad
students at East will finally get to read these important articles, even if it's a little late."
Students originally sought to publish the articles in the second to last edition of the paper last
school year, but could not after the principal demanded the students pull the articles citing vague
threats to gay students. The student journalists and their sources went to court this spring, with
the help of the ACLU, seeking an order allowing them to publish the articles in the final edition of
the paper.
The court denied the request, stating that more information about the district's reasons for
censoring the articles was needed.
Over the summer and fall, school officials failed to produce evidence of their claims that lesbian
and gay students would be harmed as a result of the publication of the articles.
The lawsuit also revealed the school took no steps to inform those students' parents or the police
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officer assigned to the school of the alleged threats.
The school now has relented and informed The Kernal editorial board members that the articles
can be printed.
ACLU of Southern California staff attorney Christine P. Sun said that publishing the articles, which
included both the views of people supportive of gay and lesbian rights and the views of those who
have religious objections to homosexuality, is long overdue.
"The principal was wrong to censor these well-researched, balanced articles about a topic that
affects teenagers today," Sun said.
"Not only were the threats the principal cited last spring unsubstantiated, but the law is clear that
the principal may not just throw up his hands and resort to censorship when he is concerned
about student safety. The right to free speech requires that the principal protect students who
want to speak out about important issues, and not cede control of the campus to school bullies."
Janet Rangel, who graduated from East High last June and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, was
interviewed for the story with her mother.
"When our principal said the articles on sexual orientation could not be published in The Kernal it
made me feel like I was back in the closet again, hiding," Rangel said. "I'm glad that because we
didn't back down the articles will be printed. It's important for schools to be a place where
students learn and feel comfortable."
Meanwhile, in Orange Park, Florida, a high school principal has refused to allow a student
newspaper with a column titled "Homosexuality is not a Choice." (story)
The action is the third instance in which high schools in the district have become embroiled in
anti-gay actions. BACK
November 3, 2005 -- Equality NC
State School Board Fails LGBT Students
Removes protected categories from Counseling, Social Work standards
Raleigh - This morning the State Board of Education removed language from their revisions to the
professional standards for school counselors and school social worker that would have ensured
these professionals had an understanding of diversity, including sexual orientation and gender
identity.
Equality NC has been working hard to prevent the Board from giving in to pressure from the far-right
NC Family Policy Council to remove this language. In just two weeks, more than 1600
supporters signed our petition to the Board, which was delivered prior to their meeting, and many
professional and advocacy groups joined the fight.
Unfortunately the Board sought an easy way out. Instead of just removing sexual orientation and
gender identity, as the Family Policy Council wanted, they removed all of the categories, including
race, creed, and national origin. The final language contains lofty language about understanding
human diversity, but without a clear indication of what kinds of diversity are included, the policy
is likely to have little positive impact on the day-to-day lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender students.
"We are deeply saddened by the Board's failure to ensure that all students can receive
professional care from school counselors and social workers, regardless of sexual orientation or
gender identity," said Ian Palmquist, Executive Director-Programs. "Although we are sure that no
one on the Board believes that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students should be treated
poorly, their decision today did nothing to prevent that from happening in our public schools."
Equality NC applauds Board members John Tate and Edgar Murphey and the Board's Student
Advisor Sara McClure for speaking out passionately for including the categories and protecting
LGBT students. McClure, a senior at Southeast Raleigh High School, could not attend today's
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meeting, but she sent a powerful statement which was read to the Board. She shared the
experiences of gay friends at her high school and how important it was that they were able to
work with a counselor who understood these issues.
Despite these powerful testimonials, the board voted down the inclusive language 4-7, with John
Tate, Edgar Murphey, Wayne McDevitt and Melissa Bartlett supporting the inclusive policy.
Equality NC and our allies will continue monitoring the School Board and working to educate them
about the challenges LGBT students face every day. Equality NC recognizes other groups have
also been outspoken in supporting the inclusive policy, including the NC School Counselors
Association, the National Association of Social Workers - NC, Safe Schools NC, the NC Chapter of
the American Association of University Women, Planned Parenthood of Central NC, and NARAL
Pro-Choice NC. BACK
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