Transitions: Working with GLBTQ Youth
Volume 14, No. 4, June 2002

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By Braden Jahr, 16, Online Peer Educator with www.YouthResource.com, Advocates for Youth

What comes to mind when you hear the words "high school"? Do you think of a safe and friendly environment where students go to learn? Well, that isn't the way it is for thousands of teenagers across the country. Just try to imagine going to school every day and worrying about your safety so much that you cannot concentrate. Imagine being screamed at, kicked, punched, threatened, and spit upon. How would you feel? You would probably feel the same way that thousands of gay students feel every day—worthless. Now can you understand why so many gay teenagers say that high school was one of the worst experiences of their lives?

I left high school after six months because of harassment like this and the school's lack of understanding and support. Week after week, I went to the administration, informing them of the names I was called and the many other things my fellow students would do to me and others. I heard that they were doing the best they could—nothing. They blamed me. They told me that I brought it upon myself by the way that I looked, acted, and dressed. I was told that, if I would "tone it down," I would be left alone. The irony was that I did not dress, look, or act out of the ordinary. Then, one day I was attacked in the hallway. I was not hurt, but I was badly shaken. The boy who attacked me was suspended for three days! Because the school didn't protect me, I was forced to leave. I was forced to give up a part of my youth, to give up my personal rights to freedom, justice, and the pursuit of happiness as well as to an education.

My life has gotten so much better since I left high school. I have traveled to conferences around the country, meeting hundreds of amazing people, and have learned about aspects of gay life outside of a rural town. This last year has been a most liberating experience! In October, Advocates for Youth accepted me as a peer educator. I spend a lot of time answering e-mail from youth—some of them struggling with harassment in school and all of them looking for help, a way to cope with ignorance and lack of acceptance. I also spend considerable time working with the Triangle Foundation (Michigan's largest gay rights organization) and with PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) on their Safe Schools project. I speak to counselors and administrators from a few school districts, including those at my former high school, where I have successfully founded the area's first diversity group of its kind.

I do this knowing that gay youth make up one-third of all suicides, in part because of the harassment at their schools and the stigma attached to being gay. School counselors, administrators, and staff can help to end this harassment. Help is available from organizations such as Advocates for Youth and GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network). I urge you to take a stand against discrimination in your schools, communities, and families. You will be helping more than you can imagine.

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Transitions (ISSN 1097-1254) © 2002, is a quarterly publication of Advocates for Youth—Helping young people make safe and responsible decisions about sex. For permission to reprint, contact Transitions' editor at 202.419.3420.

Editor: Sue Alford