If you walk through the halls of a typical high school or maybe any institution, you sometimes hear teenagers have some interesting conversations, “Did you see what she’s wearing?” “Are the rumors true?”
Rumors and gossip always fly wild in the halls between classes. But, if you listen closely, you can sometimes hear worse things being said. It’s not uncommon to come across people saying, “That’s so gay!” or “Hey you, “f@*%t!” These words still persist because it’s a sign that there is a very big problem in our nation’s schools and colleges: homophobic bullying and harassment.
The recent deaths of students who have committed suicide because they were physically and verbally harassed or bullied for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer is a wake upcall. In case anyone lost count, there were six reported suicides during the first week of October, starting with the tragic death of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. He was a freshman at the university and was filmed by his roommate over the web in his dorm room while he had a sexual encounter with another male. The roommate then took the video and posted it on Twitter. The only way Clementi thought he could end the embarrassment and pain was by taking his own life.
It was reported on Wednesday that another gay teenager took his life. 19- year-old Zach Harrington committed suicide after attending a city council meeting on Sept. 28 in Norman, Okla. The city council meeting made it very clear that it was not gay-friendly. This most likely caused Harrington a lot of panic and stress and offered him no source for help.
I call this a wake up call because it is a very disturbing and horrible sign that there are people, especially young adults, in this country who do not have access to the support they need to fully understand and accept their identity and sexuality. Why aren’t more state governments stepping in to strengthen their laws to protect students who are gay or lesbian? Can the federal government pass a law to make a difference? Someone once told me that the reason why certain issues are propelled into the limelight and get attention from a government is all because of money. Apparently, if there is money tied to a hot-button issue, it gets considerably more attention. I find it pathetic if this claim is at all true. Forget money, we should be reaching out to people whose voices are ignored and go unheard, especially within the gay community.
However, it is a challenge to reach out to a specific audience of people who identify themselves with the gay community or are not clear about their sexuality. Some people choose to be open about their sexuality, while others elect to be more private about it. You should always respect a friend or colleague’s request to not reveal his/her sexuality to someone else. People go through different stages of coming out, so it can be a process for some individuals of when to fully reveal their identity as someone who is LGBT.
The College of Wooster is a very accepting environment for all diverse backgrounds, including those who are LGBT. There are resources available to members of the campus who need to talk about their sexuality with someone in private. The Sexuality Support Network (SSN) is a program available through the Student Wellness Center. Here, students, faculty and staff can privately meet with a peer mentor to talk in complete confidence about coming out, issues surrounding their sexuality or a friend’s sexuality. If you would like to talk to someone from the SSN, please contact Lori Stine at the Wellness Center. Your privacy and confidentiality will always be respected.