Struggles continue as environment has room for growth
Even though the school is making strides in becoming more accepting, there is always room for improvement and growth. Discussing different sexualities in the classroom would help one anonymous LGBTQ student feel more included and welcome at school.
“If you’re describing a couple in class for example, during a lecture, why not make it a gay couple and don’t call attention to it?” they said. “Make it something normal at school so that LGBTQ people don’t fear that they’ll be judged for looking for attention when they vocalize that they want more representation.”
On a similar note, junior Abi Potratz would like to see more LGBTQ representation in curriculums so students will gain more background knowledge on queer rights and oppression.
“I’m not seeing a lot of LGBT representation. In history class, we talk about racism and sexism, and queerness has always been a part of history, yet it’s never something that we talk about,” she said. “Not a lot of kids know about the AIDS crisis or any other issues that have affected the LGBTQ community in the past. A lot of them don’t see how we’re discriminated against, which just leads to a lot of ignorance surrounding the community.”
Teaching about transgender people and same-sex relationships in health class is another area of education that could benefit many, according to junior Cody Ulrich, who is transgender.
“Even in health class, heterosexual sex is hardly touched on, let alone lesbians or gay men and staying safe in those environments,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of stigma around gay men and HIV, and you can’t really remove the stigma if you refuse to teach about it. Teaching about transgender people and taking care of your body if you’re trans, even if it doesn’t apply to all students, will help those who need it.”
Along with teaching students queer history, there are other factors that can shape a student’s beliefs.
“Education plays a part, but it’s also parents and friend groups and how you’re raised. I think normalizing being a part of the LGBTQ community and making it part of the conversation from an early age is important,” XCEL teacher Erron Hundt said. “We can’t teach kids to have a different perspective, but we can educate them to know other people’s backgrounds and cultures.”
Having more LGBTQ pride around the West hallways would help senior Jasmine Travis feel more accepted as a bisexual student.
“All we see around the school when it comes to the LGBTQ community is that one little board near the office. Then Mx. Bork’s room has flags everywhere. That is the only room where I see that,” she said. “I feel like there needs to be more around the school for students to see that they’re open. I don’t think the school store has anything for West pride. We need things to make students feel more welcome even if it’s small things like showing more flags around the school.”
Even though circumstances are improving and policies are changing, Travis still feels stigma from being a part of the LGBTQ community.
“It feels like it’s more odd to be part of that group even though there are so many students who are part of the community. There’s just a weird energy around school,” she said. “My first few years, I didn’t join GSA because I was nervous and that was a big issue for me. This is my first year being in it for more than one meeting and not feeling worried about what others might think. But it’s still an issue because there are still students out there who are homophobic.”
Sophomore Kydnall Shipman sees a difference in how accepting students are versus adults when it comes to her sexuality as a lesbian.
“I think younger people accept the LGBTQ community more because back when our parents were growing up it wasn’t really accepted,” she said. “I know when I came out to my dad, he didn’t understand it because it was never accepted when he was younger. There are definitely different points of view for older and younger people.”
In terms of what people who are not a part of the LGBTQ community can do to be supportive, simply putting in the effort to call others by their correct pronouns makes a big difference.
“I’m unable to look like the gender I identify with, so I’m often misgendered. I understand that at first; however, even when I correct people they still put no effort into getting my pronouns right,” an anonymous student said. “If people would listen to us and actually try to make us feel comfortable, that’d be helpful. I get that people forget and mess up, but when they don’t try at all it hurts.”
As a straight white male ally, it’s important to social studies teacher Daniel Lewis that he does what he can to make others feel welcome in his class.
“Listen to people in the LGBTQ community. Do some research on your own and find out why people would like to be called by a different pronoun,” he said. “Just understand that doing that is going to make that person more comfortable. If you prioritize, and you should, people feeling safe and comfortable, that’s something you should look into.”
Even though it can be easy to feel lonely and isolated, Shipman knows that she and all other LGBTQ students are never alone and encourages others to take their own time in figuring out who they are.
“It’s okay if it’s not a comfortable situation for you, and it’s okay if you’re not ready to tell people,” she said. “But no matter how hard someone pushes you to tell them something, you don’t have to if you’re not ready for it.”