Making Schools Safe
Last semester, two Wheaton students—a lesbian couple—were harassed in their dorm room; in one instance their door was barricaded. Sadly, their experience is not unique. A 2003 survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) reported that schools may be the most dangerous places for gay and lesbian youth. Many of us in education are working to make schools safe for all our students.
By Professor Bianca Cody Murphy
The report from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was chilling:
In elementary school, although shy and quiet, Jamie was a good student and enjoyed going to school. In seventh grade, however, Jamie realized that he was gay and when other students in his middle school in Wisconsin learned of his sexual orientation, the torment began. What started as name calling and spitting quickly turned to more violent attacks. In a science lab, for example, Jaime was the victim of a "mock rape" by two boys who told him he should enjoy it, while 20 other students looked on and laughed. In response the middle school principal told Jaime and his parents that "boys will be boys" and if Jaime "was going to be so openly gay, he had to expect this kind of thing to happen." ... The most serious assault occurred in 11th grade, when Jaime was surrounded by eight students and kicked in the stomach repeatedly while other students stood by. Jaime collapsed due to internal bleeding caused by the attack and was rushed to the hospital.
My experience as a clinician and researcher tells me that there are thousands of Jaimes in school systems nationwide. Young people struggle with issues of sexual orientation at a much younger age than did people of previous generations. In the 1980s the average age at which men came out was 20, the average age for women was 22. Now the average age is 16.
It is difficult to estimate the number of adolescents who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. Few studies ask adolescents about their same-sex attractions, behaviors and/or sexual orientation identity. In fact, it is getting more and more difficult to conduct any kind of sex research. Congress recently considered withdrawing funding for sex research supported by the National Institutes of Health. However, there are two large population-based studies—the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (NLSAH) and the Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)—that ask adolescents about sexual attraction, behavior and identity. The NLSAH found that 6 percent of adolescents aged 13-18 report same-sex attraction. The YRBS studies found that up to 5 percent of adolescents report engaging in same-sex activity and 2 to 5 percent of adolescents describe themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
When we think about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the schools, we should also include the many students who are harassed and teased because they are perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual, because they engage in gender-atypical behavior or are gender non-conforming, or because they are the children of lesbian, gay and bisexual parents.
The challenges facing LGBT youth and those perceived to be LGBT are enormous. The institutions that should support them often do not. Family members may be unaware that the adolescent is gay, so even if they would be supportive they aren't able to be. Psychologist Ritch Savin-Williams noted that 60-80 percent tell their mothers, and 30-65 percent tell their fathers. Many youth have their sexual orientation "discovered" by parents. And many families are not supportive. Hostility is a common reaction. Children may be rejected by parents, abused and evicted from their homes. Being rejected by family is difficult for anyone, but is much more traumatic for adolescents who depend on their families for emotional and financial support. Estimates are that as many as 40 percent of homeless youth on the streets are LGBT.
Schools should be a safe place for all students. Ironically, schools may be the place where the harassment is at its worst. The GLSEN National School Climate Survey (2003) found that:
- 84 percent of respondents reported being verbally harassed by name calling, threats, etc.
- 39 percent reported being physically harassed (shoved, pushed, hit, etc.).
- 82 percent reported that faculty never intervened or only intervened sometimes.
- 15 percent reported that they heard homophobic remarks from faculty or school staff.
Other studies reveal that LGBT students may be at more risk of violence than their heterosexual counterparts, and LGBT students of color face double discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation. According to the Massachusetts YRBS in 1995, LGBT youth are four times more likely to be threatened with a weapon, are more likely to carry a weapon to school and are more likely to have engaged in a physical fight.
Given they don't feel safe, it is not surprising LGBT youth miss school more frequently and are more likely to drop out. The Massachusetts YRBS in 1996 found that 20 percent of LGBT youth reported missing school in the last month because they felt unsafe, compared to 6 percent of other youth.
Antigay harassment affects school performance. Students who are harassed do less well in school. Those who are frequently harassed because of perceived sexual orientation had GPAs that were significantly lower than their peers (2.9 versus 3.3). They are also twice as likely not to go to college, according to GLSEN.
Sexual orientation often isn't discussed in the classroom, and some states have what has been called "no promo homo" laws, which prohibit teachers from even mentioning the word "homosexual" in the classroom. The new abstinence-only sex education programs and "no promo homo" laws work together to create an atmosphere hostile to LGBT youth and their teachers. Many educators report being uncomfortable discussing sexual orientation: some do not feel knowledgeable enough, others are worried about parental complaints, and still others are fearful they will lose their jobs.
Carol Reisinger, the director of Commonroads, an agency working with gay youth in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is all too familiar with these statistics. She has heard stories like Jaime's many times. Carol thought that it would be important not only to work with the kids in a safe environment outside of school, but also to sponsor a training program to make schools safer for LGBT youth.
Two years ago, after reading an article I had written about training clinicians to work with LGBT issues, Reisinger contacted me and asked if I would work with her to develop a training program. With support from grants by the Gill Foundation and the Harrisburg Foundation to Commonroads, I developed a training program for school personnel with the help of Wheaton students. Tom Forsyth '04 served as my Wheaton Research Partner and helped develop a resource booklet we distribute to all participants. Shakira Cruz '06 has worked with me this year on updating the materials. Reisinger had hoped that we would offer one workshop and train 20 people. Because Commonroads has partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Education Division of Student and Safe School Services, which has supported subsequent workshops, I have offered eight workshops and we have trained approximately 500 school personnel in all parts of the state during the past two years.
The workshop provides basic information, a sort of "Homosexuality 101." We then discuss the specific issues facing LGBT youth. Many of the participants are shocked by the stories of LGBT youth and others have stories from their own schools to share. We discuss specific interventions to making our schools safer. We review the federal laws that should be used to compel schools to protect LGBT youth, including parts of the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and Title IX of the Educational Amendments (1972). The Equal Access Act (1985) says that schools can't deny students access to school facilities to have meetings of a religious or a political purpose, and this act has been used to require that schools allow Gay/Straight Alliances to meet.
Before leaving the workshop, each participant develops a specific plan of action and commitment to making some structural and personal changes. On the school or district level, participants have committed themselves to make sure that their school has an antigay harassment policy, to develop and post a students' bill of rights, to support Gay/Straight Alliances, to provide in-service training for school personnel, to purchase books and videos on LGBT issues for their school libraries, and to make sure that anti-bullying training includes specific examples of LGBT harassment.
On the individual level, participants agree to always intervene when they hear antigay harassment, to provide Safe Zones that indicate to students that the faculty or staff member is both familiar with and comfortable talking about LGBT issues, to bring in gay youth panels to their classrooms, and to support LGBT administrators, counselors, teachers and staff who choose to come out at work.
The research indicates that interventions like these make a difference. Students who can identify a supportive faculty member are 2.5 times more likely to go to college, and those who know that their school has an antigay harassment policy are 40 percent less likely to skip school, according to GLSEN, and colleges are now creating similar programs.
Wheaton long been proactive about LGBT issues. The college has an anti-harassment policy that specifically includes LGBT issues and was cited as a model in the Massachusetts governor's report on schools in the mid-1990s. The college offers domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff couples. The student LGBT organization sponsors programs, including Pride Week each spring. There is a very active LGBT alumnae/i group with its own newsletter and programs. A group of faculty met with students last spring to discuss ways to infuse LGBT issues into the curriculum. Despite these strides in creating a safe atmosphere, antigay harassment continues.
At a community meeting in late March, more than 175 students, staff, faculty and alumnae/i crowded the Holman Room to discuss harassment on campus. Only days earlier, Kristin Cahalane '05 and Abby Taylor '08 had been the target of three antigay incidents: the word "dykes" had been written on a message board outside their room; their door was barricaded; and several men shouted "dykes" as they passed the women's open door. They did what few before them had done; they reported the incidents to Public Safety. At the community meeting, student after student stood up either to tell their own stories of abuse or to call for action.
Action was swift. Public Safety's investigation identified three freshmen believed responsible for the verbal harassment, but investigators could not link them or other students to the other incidents. The three men received sanctions from Athletics Director Chad Yowell and Dean of Students Sue Alexander. Students organized an April "speak-out" in the Dimple, where the harassment was condemned; President Ronald A. Crutcher addressed the community, saying, "I am deeply troubled by this behavior anywhere in society, but especially here at Wheaton, where so many students, faculty and staff work together every day to support our shared values." The Staff Association issued a letter to the community, as did the Alumnae/i Association Board of Directors, which wrote in a letter to the Wheaton Wire, "Incidents like these prompt each of us to examine our own prejudices and fears and to take a stand against bigotry." The investigation is ongoing.
Before the incidents happened, a group of faculty, students and staff were at work on creating a Safe Zone curriculum that would be offered to the college community. A pilot of this workshop was offered last January to the Residential Life staff and there are plans to offer it twice this coming year to all members of the campus community. College librarians Betty Brown and Sara DeRis compiled a list of resources that are available in the Wheaton library.
In direct response to the harassment of Cahalane and Taylor, Crutcher also called for increased attention and education about Wheaton's community standards for behavior, which mandates that "all members of the Wheaton Community are expected to behave in ways which demonstrate care and respect for the personal dignity, rights and freedoms of all members of the community." A new Web site to support this education goal is expected to be launched this fall.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force offers a set of recommendations to improve the campus climate for LGBT people, and I'm heartened to know that Wheaton currently does many things—as noted above—to make our campus safer for LGBT students, faculty and staff. But we cannot be complacent; we must continue to act because we value the safety of every community member.
Bianca Cody Murphy is a professor of psychology whose research and teaching interests include LGBT family issues. Quarterly editor Jayne M. Iafrate contributed to this article.
Alumnae/i support
Since 1996 Wheaton's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender alumnae/i group (LGBTA) has been a fully recognized affinity group of the Wheaton College Alumnae/i Association, with its chair serving on the Association Board of Directors. To learn more about the LGBTA, receive its quarterly newsletter, and find out about events in your area, visit www.wheatonclubs.org/lgbta, or contact Chair Becky Hemperly '88 at bhemperly@comcast.net or the Alumnae/i Relations & Annual Giving office at (508) 286-8207.
