Letter to the Editor

Joseph Aufenthie, Austin

An 18-year-old senior at Alexandria’s Jefferson High School recently killed himself because of anti-gay bullying. He is another name to be added to the list of kids who are killing themselves because because in public school hallways across the country, there are some people saying derogatory things to LGBT kids. These kids hate themselves because they are hated by their peers. Bullying is simply not PL. This one, though, happened close to home. It makes me think that we might have a problem here.What is Austin High School like? From what I understand, there is a “Diversity Club” which used to be a gay-straight alliance but Christian groups in town didn’t like it that there was a group that supported the rights of queer students.

What I want to know is are there teachers who would let “that’s so gay,” slip from a teacher’s or student’s lips, and let it slide? Would a teacher in Austin Public Schools defend someone who was being called a “faggot” in the hallway? Are any of the faculty homophobic? What happens if the next gay teen who kills himself is from Austin? Maybe with a curriculum that includes LGBT history, culture, safe sex practices, and has an underlying tone of acceptance we can make sure that queer kids here don’t face the same fate as the Alexandria student did.