LGBTQ Student Rights in the Wake of Tragic Suicides

‘Every student deserves the right to a respectful and affirming experience in school hallways and classrooms. We owe it to Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover to make sure that school officials, teachers and fellow students take a stand against LGBT-related harassment every day.’

(New York, April 27 2009) — Lambda Legal today issued the following statement in response to the tragic suicides of Jaheem Herrera of Dekalb County, Georgia, and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, of Springfield, Massachusetts, both 11-year-olds who faced antigay harassment and bullying.
Statement from Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal:

“This has been a somber time for everyone who heard the terrible news of two young people taking their own lives after being the targets of antigay physical and emotional abuse. We extend our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of these young boys.
“The tragic deaths of Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover underscore the importance of safe schools where harassment and violence based on racist, sexist, antigay or other biased attitudes are not tolerated. Unfortunately, there is much work to be done. Harassment of LGBTQ students and those perceived to be LGBT remains a serious problem across the country. Lambda Legal pledges to continue to stand up for students and hold schools accountable for preserving their rights and integrity. We applaud schools that stand up for safety and respect for all students because any student can be the target of LGBT-related bullying and harassment.

“Lambda Legal has played a key role in securing equality for LGBTQ and allied youth and standing up for their rights in schools. We advocated for students’ rights to an environment of safety and respect in communities from New York and New Jersey to Oregon to California and Georgia. In 1996 we made history with the first legal challenge to antigay violence in public schools on behalf of Jamie Nabozny, in Nabozny v. Podlesny, and in our 2000 case, Colin v. Orange Unified School District, we established the obligation of schools to allow Gay Straight Alliance’s on equal terms with other student activities.

“Every student deserves the right to a respectful and affirming experience in school hallways and classrooms. We owe it to Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover to make sure that school officials, teachers and fellow students take a stand against LGBT-related harassment every day, and at Lambda Legal we will continue our work in schools to help prevent similar tragedies from occurring.”
Lambda Legal will join the Faith and Community Alliance and other community groups at a vigil for Jaheem Herrera on Tuesday, April 28, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., First Christian Church of Decatur ,601 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, GA.
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Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

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Students’ silence supports gay rights

More than a third of all Vashon High School students took part in the national Day of Silence April 17, showing their support for the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) community by refraining from speaking all day.

They wore stickers indicating their level of participation: completely silent, silent unless speaking was necessary or speaking but supportive of the day’s actions.

Those who chose silence, said teacher Marcella Murphy, did so “because gay and lesbian students feel silenced by their peers. They feel they can’t speak out on who they really are because they feel harassed or bullied.”

The event raises awareness of the LGBTQ community at Vashon High School and nationwide, said Murphy, advisor of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, which sponsored the event.

More than 100,000 students across the country take part in the national Day of Silence, according to its Web site. Organizers of the day hope to call attention to and stamp out anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment. See Students’ silence supports gay rights

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcombe

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Day of Silence observed

(Washington) Hundreds of thousands of students at thousands of schools nationwide are taking part in the National Day of Silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.

Students from more than 8,000 middle schools, high schools and colleges registered as participants in last year’s Day of Silence. This year …

Lambda warns school officials : hands off South Medford High School student and Gay Straight Alliance

(Medford, Oregon, April 17, 2009) — Lambda Legal has sent a letter of support to South Medford High School Principal Kevin Campbell, Medford School District Superintendent Phil Long, and the School Board on behalf of South Medford High School student and Gay Straight Alliance member Connie McNair.
The letter objects that school officials have been imposing restrictions on the Medford High GSA to which no other on-campus group is subject and that seriously burden club members’ free speech and associational rights. These include requiring GSA members to get prior approval for their announcements and activities from an assistant principal, deeming the club’s legitimate educational activities illicit “proselytizing,” and even prohibiting the club from formally announcing today’s “Day of Silence.” The Day of Silence is a national event calling attention to anti-gay bullying and harassment in schools.
In the letter, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Tara Borelli writes “While we hope that the school’s actions to deter the GSA’s activities are simply the result of confusion about its obligations, the law in this area is well-established and school’s unequal treatment of the GSA is difficult to understand and should be remedied swiftly.”
In addition to the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution, public school students are also protected by the federal Equal Access Act. The EAA says that if a school receives federal funds and allows extracurricular student groups to meet, it cannot discriminate against any of the groups based on the content of its speech. GSA groups across the country have used the EAA in court to protect their right to free speech.
“It’s simply unlawful for South Medford High School to create unequal obstacles for Connie or the GSA, or to stifle the GSA’s announcements about the Day of Silence,” said Borelli. “We want to remind South Medford school officials that they have a responsibility to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, and we’re asking them to lift any restriction applying to the GSA but not to other groups.
“All we want is safety and equality within our school,” said McNair. “Our GSA members want
students, school officials, and the community to know that we can’t be discriminated against based on our speech or activities.” * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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Lambda slams school officals re: South Medford High School student and Gay Straight Alliance

The letter objects that school officials have been imposing restrictions on the Medford High GSA to which no other on-campus group is subject and that seriously burden club members’ free speech and associational rights. These include requiring GSA members to get prior approval for their announcements and activities from an assistant principal, deeming the club’s legitimate educational activities illicit “proselytizing,” and even prohibiting the club from formally announcing today’s “Day of Silence.” The Day of Silence is a national event calling attention to anti-gay bullying and harassment in schools.

In the letter, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Tara Borelli writes “While we hope that the school’s actions to deter the GSA’s activities are simply the result of confusion about its obligations, the law in this area is well-established and school’s unequal treatment of the GSA is difficult to understand and should be remedied swiftly.”

In addition to the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution, public school students are also protected by the federal Equal Access Act. The EAA says that if a school receives federal funds and allows extracurricular student groups to meet, it cannot discriminate against any of the groups based on the content of its speech. GSA groups across the country have used the EAA in court to protect their right to free speech.

“It’s simply unlawful for South Medford High School to create unequal obstacles for Connie or the GSA, or to stifle the GSA’s announcements about the Day of Silence,” said Borelli. “We want to remind South Medford school officials that they have a responsibility to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, and we’re asking them to lift any restriction applying to the GSA but not to other groups.

“All we want is safety and equality within our school,” said McNair. “Our GSA members want
students, school officials, and the community to know that we can’t be discriminated against based on our speech or activities.”

Lambda Legal has given school officials until May 1 to respond to the letter.