By:Angela Marshall
Principal Jeffery Hollman knew what he was about to do would make some people uncomfortable, but he also knew it had to be done. The year was 1997 and he was relatively new to the Baldwin School District.
A female student came to his office and said the gay and lesbian students at Baldwin Senior High School were unhappy. They were being called names and physically assaulted. She had been hit on the head with a bottle.
Hollman knew that the politically correct thing to do was just to apply a bandage maybe crack down on the offending students and let the problem continue to fester. However, through past experiences, he also knew just how fast the situation could spin out of control if left unchecked.
Hollman decided to go where few schools had gone before and few have gone since. He brought the student and her friends together to create a support group specifically designed to open up a dialogue between gay and straight students. They called it the Gay Straight Alliance.
Of the 114 high schools on Long Island, not even five have a similar program.
That could all change next year thanks to legislation currently being considered by the New York State Senate and Assembly.
Both branches of the state government are studying a bill called the Dignity for Students Act. The legislation, sponsored in the assembly by Education Chair Steven Sanders (D-Manhattan) and in the senate by Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan), addresses the kind of hate-based bullying that recently has been cited as a contributing factor in school violence and requires educators to implement comprehensive policies aimed at preventing it.
The dignity act would require school administrators, teachers, parents and students to recognize and address bias-related behavior that interferes with student safety and learning. According to a memorandum attached to the Senate bill, the purpose of the act is to afford all persons in public schools an environment free of harassment and discrimination based on actual or perceived race, national origin, ethnic group, religion, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex.
Members of the Assembly Education Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the act, 25 to 2, on March 20. It will next go before the Assembly Codes Committee.
Among its key provisions are developing rules to prevent and respond to discriminatory violence; incorporating discrimination awareness and sensitivity into civility, citizenship and character education curricula; establishing teacher, staff and administrative training guidelines for dealing with diversity, reducing discriminatory behaviors and reporting incidents of discrimination and bias harassment to the State Education Department.
Members of the Dignity for All Students Coalition praised the assembly for its recent move. They also addressed the concern that some people might interpret the bill as an attempt to push homosexual lifestyles.
This legislation does not force students to accept gay kids, immigrant kids, deeply religious kids or disabled kids,said Ross Levi, legislative council for the Empire State Pride Agenda and co-facilitator of the coalition. It simply offers protection for certain groups whose differences make them frequent targets. As long as the law requires students to be in school, then schools need to be harassment-free zones where kids can reach their full potential.
Baldwin's battle to end bashing
With the full support of Superintendent Kathy Weiss, Hollman invited a representative from Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to help start the support group.
Roughly 25 students, gay and straight, attended those first meetings. There was no pressure to say what one's sexual orientation was. It was just a place to meet and talk about the issues, Hollman said during an interview last week. It became a safe place.
Representatives from PFLAG also spoke to the faculty about their experiences and how they can be responsive to the students.
At first, the group relied solely on word-of-mouth notice of the meetings, but those attending felt there might be some gay or lesbian students who were unaware that support and acceptance was available.
They asked to advertise through posters that the group existed. A true test was being placed on the district's commitment to the program. Hollman once again chose the road less traveled.
The principal said he wanted to move slowly. He knew the statistics and was aware that the worst violence often happens after a safe haven is established, and now they were going to go public. He was right to be concerned.
The day the posters went up, Hollman said, All hell broke loose.
Students complained, parents complained. Some even said they would remove their children from the school. For four or five days, Hollman said, the outrage continued at a fever pitch.
Finally, it was meeting day. Hollman was worried. He decided to address the school. He announced that all students are entitled to feel safe in school and reviewed the state's harassment laws. There would be zero tolerance for acts of aggression on the campus.
One hundred-and-eighty students showed up for the meeting some gay and some straight, many who questioned the group's concept. They talked for hours, with both sides addressing their concerns. It was one of the best exchanges I've ever heard,Hollman said.
There was no group hug at the end, where everyone declared an attitude change, but the tension bubble in the school had burst, according to Hollman. And it did make a difference both for the students and the teachers.
Homosexual jokes stopped in the teachers' lounge.
The Gay Straight Alliance marched in the Homecoming Parade. There were no catcalls.
In the years since Baldwin started its program, Hollman has been asked to share his experiences with many other school districts. Few have chosen to develop programs.
There is still a lot of work to be done for those students,Hollman said.
Banishing bullying
Baldwin has attempted to end the bullying addressed in the dignity act in other ways, too.
For decades, Freshman Friday has brought nightmares to the ninth-grade students at Baldwin Senior High. Upperclassmen have traditionally set aside one Friday each school year to harass the school's newest scholars. We've basically wiped it out here,Hollman said.
Faculty and administrators make sure all students understand that the rite of passage
