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On Friday, May 22 students participated in a panel and community discussion sponsored by STRAT (Students and Teachers Raising Awareness Together) and TIO (Talk It Out) that will focus on respect and tolerance for people of varying sexual orientations. Our panelists included Lt. Det. Ken Watson of the Northampton Police Department and his partner, Jim Hutchins; Marie Rello and her partner Alison Marsland, parents of children in the Easthampton schools; and three students from Easthampton High School - Emily Barber and Mia Wintheiser, both juniors and members of the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) and Lyndsey Oppenheimer, a freshman who has two moms. The Massachusetts Standards compel all Massachusetts schools to teach about the concepts of prejudice and discrimination (7.4; 7.7)), to identify the social and emotional consequences of harassment (11.6) and to define intolerance and explain how it can contribute to violence (11.7) In the last month an 11 year old student from Springfield who had been taunted and bullied, called "gay" and "fag" tragically killed himself. His school’s climate is one of the factors being blamed for his death. We also know that, unfortunately, it is common at WBMS to hear students using the phrase "That's so gay."or to call classmates "gay"or "fag"or "lesbian". In fact, one of the most common reasons that middle school students are harassed is actual or supposed sexual orientation. Girls and boys who fail to fit their gender stereotypes are commonly "put down" by their peers for being "different." Additionally, many of our students who are being raised in same-sex households are the indirect targets of those slurs. The assembly was our effort to make WBMS safe for all of our students and to promote respect for all people. |