Seventeen-year-old
Jessie
Liberatore
has
been
spit
on,
called
a
dyke
and
even
pushed
down
the
stairs
at
her
public
school
in
Havre
de
Grace,
Md.
The
harassment
started
even
before
she
came
out
in
the
ninth
grade
when
there
were
just
rumors
about
her
sexual
orientation.
"It
was
worse
at
the
beginning,"
she
said.
"I’m
lucky
in
that
I’ve
gone
to
Havre
de
Grace
public
schools
my
entire
life.
They
realize
I’m
still
the
same
person
that
they’ve
known."
According
to
a
new
survey
by
the
Gay,
Lesbian
&
Straight
Education
Network,
the
experiences
of
Liberatore,
who
is
gay,
are
not
uncommon.
In
2005,
GLSEN
surveyed
1,732
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
students
between
the
ages
of
13
and
20
from
all
50
states
and
the
District
of
Columbia.
The
survey
results
were
released
this
week.
Almost
two-thirds
of
those
surveyed
said
they
were
verbally
harassed
because
of
their
sexual
orientation.
About
half
reported
they
were
harassed
for
their
gender
identity,
according
to
the
survey
results.
More
than
a
third
of
those
surveyed
suffered
anti-gay
physical
harassment
and
25
percent
experienced
anti-transgender
physical
harassment,
the
survey
found.
The
study
also
reported
that
only
16.5
percent
of
students
surveyed
said
that
a
school
staff
member
often
intervened
when
they
heard
anti-gay
insults.
About
18
percent
of
respondents
said
they
had
actually
heard
staff
make
homophobic
comments.
These
statistics
reflect
what
Liberatore
has
seen
at
her
own
school.
Teachers
often
don’t
reprimand
students
when
they
say
comments
like,
"that’s
so
gay,"
in
a
classroom
discussion,
she
said.
And,
at
times,
teachers
have
even
used
the
phrase
themselves,
Liberatore
said.
"Teachers
don’t
consider
it
part
of
their
job
to
provide
for
the
safety
of
GLBT
kids,"
said
Judy
Hoff,
the
Safe
Schools
coordinator
at
Parents,
Families
&
Friends
of
Lesbians
&
Gays.
"The
climate
in
our
culture
right
now
seems
to
be
driving
how
things
are
going
on
in
our
communities."
In
one
of
Liberatore’s
classes
when
students
try
to
bring
up
gay
rights
issues
in
a
positive
way,
she
said,
the
teacher
stops
the
discussion
and
says,
"We’re
not
going
to
talk
about
that."
GLSEN’s
study
also
found
that
anti-gay
violence
and
harassment
leads
to
cutting
school,
poor
grades
and
fewer
gay
students
planning
to
attend
college.
For
example,
about
28
percent
of
students
surveyed
skipped
school
in
the
past
month
because
they
felt
unsafe.
Gay
students
were
more
than
five
times
more
likely
to
cut
class
than
the
general
student
body,
according
to
the
survey
results.
The
average
GPA
for
a
student
who
suffered
anti-gay
physical
harassment
was
2.6
as
compared
with
3.1
for
other
students,
according
to
the
survey.
Most
alarming
for
gay
rights
activists
was
that
there
was
little
positive
change
in
the
survey
results
since
it
was
last
conducted
in
2003.
"I
talk
to
other
adult
LGBT
people,"
said
Kevin
Jennings,
GLSEN’s
executive
director.
"[They
say],
‘Things
must
be
all
better
for
kids
now.’
It’s
not
all
better."
More
attacks,
less
protection
Fewer
students
in
2005
could
identify
school
staff
they
felt
comfortable
speaking
with
about
gay
issues,
and
there
was
no
increase
in
resources
for
gay
students
since
2003,
the
study
found.
"We
know
what
works,"
said
Jennings.
"Why
aren’t
more
of
them
doing
it?
What’s
their
excuse?
That’s
what
I
want
to
know."
What
works,
Jennings
said,
is
supportive
staff;
an
inclusive
curriculum
that
discusses
gay
rights;
and
gay
student
clubs.
But
about
81
percent
of
those
surveyed
said
they
had
not
been
taught
about
gay
history
or
about
notable
gay
people
in
school.
Not
only
are
schools
not
taking
the
necessary
steps
to
protect
gay
students,
but
more
state
legislatures
are
attacking
them,
Jennings
said.
In
2004
one
state
considered
a
law
barring
gay-straight
student
alliance
clubs
in
schools;
in
2005
six
states
proposed
such
measures,
he
said.
"There
are
more
attacks
and
not
more
protection,"
he
said.
Liberatore
has
tried
since
spring
2005
to
resurrect
her
school’s
now-defunct
gay
straight
alliance.
But
her
principal,
Wayne
D.
Thibeault,
has
stalled,
she
said.
"He
expressed
that
he
doesn’t
know
how
well
received
it
would
be,"
she
said.
"I
can’t
even
get
out
of
him
the
procedure.
I’m
waiting
to
find
out
what
I
need
to
do.
"I
feel
it
is
different
because
it’s
a
GSA,"
she
said.
"I’ve
watched
clubs
form
in
the
meantime."
Thibeault
could
not
be
reached
for
comment.
While
Maryland
has
an
anti-discrimination
law
that
protects
gays,
the
school
handbook
only
lists
protections
based
on
race,
gender
and
religion,
Liberatore
said.
GLSEN’s
report
argued
that
generic
anti-bullying
laws
that
don’t
explicitly
prohibit
anti-gay
harassment
in
schools
are
tantamount
to
no
bullying
laws
at
all.
As
of
August
2005,
14
states,
including
Arizona,
Arkansas,
Oklahoma,
Louisiana
and
Colorado,
had
generic
anti-bullying
laws,
according
to
the
Human
Rights
Campaign.
Since
2003,
only
one
state,
Maine,
has
adopted
an
anti-bullying
policy
that
specifically
prohibits
anti-gay
harassment,
said
Jennings.
California,
Maine,
Minnesota,
New
Jersey
and
D.C.
prohibit
harassment
and
discrimination
based
on
gender
identity
and
sexual
orientation
in
schools,
according
to
HRC.
Maryland,
Rhode
Island,
Vermont,
Massachusetts,
Washington,
Connecticut
and
Wisconsin
prohibit
anti-gay
discrimination
and
...
