Getting personal

I came out as gay at the age of 13. It was September 27th, 2007 - I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was the eve of our 8th grade canoe trip and I called one of my best friends to chat (on our landline phone, remember those?). I told her I was bisexual - because the societal ridicule of admitting you’re fully gay was too much at the time, but that’s a whole other conversation - and she thought nothing of it. We were still best friends and life carried on. What I didn’t know at the time was that my life would forever change.

Throughout high school, I was known as “the gay kid.” I was constantly tormented. I was called names in the halls, had things thrown at me in the cafeteria, and was harassed online - I recently came across a Memory on Facebook where someone had told me anonymously, at the time, that I “wasn’t really gay” and was “faking it.” Gym class and the bathrooms at school were especially frightening. In secluded spaces like that, who was I to know that I wouldn’t get jumped and beat up? Thankfully, I had the high school theater program - a place where I could freely be me.

Unfortunately, my story is not unlike many of our students’ today. This is why those students need protections - they are particularly vulnerable. Anti-bullying policies need to be strictly enforced and repercussions for breaking these rules need to be swift and harsh. There needs to be eyes and ears on students at all times, especially in more secluded areas. Options to use bathrooms where students feel comfortable is of the utmost importance.

On the Fenton School Board, I will advocate for these students. I will be a figure they can look up to and go to school knowing they have someone on their side. This is something that’s very much needed - not only in our district, but across the country. I guarantee that you don’t know that this is happening. Students that are on the receiving end of bullying are not likely to speak out about it. I didn’t. It’s embarrassing! However, every child and adolescent deserves the right to a safe and comfortable education where they can find achievement.