Schools
At Roseville Area High School, Student Group Takes It Messages To the Sidewalks
The Gay-Straight Alliance at Roseville Area High School participated in the You-Are-Loved Chalk Message Project, a nationwide effort designed to end bullying in schools.
Who would choose to be bullied? Who would say, “I want to be discriminated?”
These are questions that were being asked by the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at Roseville Area High School (RAHS) on Monday afternoon as they assembled for the third annual You-Are-Loved Chalk Message Project.
Twenty students gathered in front of the school with chalk in hand, ready to convey messages of love, support, acceptance and hope in their school and community.
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The nation-wide project is designed to raise awareness for suicide-prevention among the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual (LGBT) community through positive and inspiring messages with chalk.
Based on studies conducted by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), sexual orientation-based harassment is the second most common form of bullying in American schools.
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Their studies also show that LGBT students are three times as likely to say they do not feel safe at their school.
Minnesota passed a law in 1993 designed to eliminate discrimination among students and protect the LGBT community in their schools.
RAHS students claim they are not fearful of gender identity bullying in their school, but it does still exist.
North Dakota native, Joe Cromey, said Roseville is far more accepting of him that his previous school.
“Being gay was not welcomed in the town I came from. It was hateful and I was very mistreated,” he said. “In Roseville, I have friends and a support system.”
RAHS students said name-calling and “book dropping” are among the greatest threats in their halls and classrooms.
So why is this still a problem?
Alex Urshan, a member of the GSA at Roseville High claims people are under-educated on the topic.
“I think a common misconception is that people think being gay is a choice, but it’s not,” she said. “We just need to accept everybody for who they are.”
RAHS also participates in the nationwide Day of Silence, a youth-run day of action where students take a vow of silence to represent the silencing effect of the harassment and bullying in the LGBT community.
Everything the GSA and RAHS do together brings everyone another step closer to an equal world, Urshan said.
“I am hopeful that in ten years it won’t even be necessary to have an alliance to support this community,” she added.
