LGBT where are we now ?

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LGBT where are we now ?

• Jane E.Bleasdale
• Saint Peters Prep
• PhD candidate Fordham University

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Moving beyond tolerance to inclusion..

• Jesuit Schools like Saint Peters Prep in Jersey
  City are places of diversity. Students come from
  extreme socio economic backgrounds , of all races
  and ethnicities. Some are gay, some are straight.
  We are a diverse community of men and women for
  others . How do we practice Cura Personalis for
  minority students students of color, and our
  gay and questioning youth ?

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Tolerance vs. inclusion dont ask dont tell

• Tolerate ?

• Include ?

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Day of Silence ?

• The Day of Silences purpose is to bring
  attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and
  harassment and effective responses. The goal of
  the Day of Silence is to make schools safer for
  all students, regardless of sexual orientation
  and gender identity/expression. In a Harris
  Interactive study on bullying, students said two
  of the top three reasons students are harassed in
  school are actual or perceived sexual orientation
  and gender expression. Additionally, nearly 9 out
  of 10 LGBT students experience harassment at
  school. Students across the country participate
  in the Day of Silence to bring attention to this
  problem, let students who experience such
  bullying know that they are not alone and ask
  schools to take action to address the problem.

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Verbal harassment/bullying

• Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs,
  backgrounds and sexual orientations participate
  in the Day of Silence. Anti-LGBT bullying and
  harassment affects all students. Slurs such as
  "faggot" and "dyke" are commonplace in school.
  The Day of Silence is an example of students,
  from middle school to college, working together
  proactively to bring attention to the anti-LGBT
  name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced
  by LGBT and straight students alike. GLSEN, the
  Day of Silences organizational sponsor,
  encourages participants to be counted by
  registering at www.dayofsilence.org. Students
  from nearly 8,000 middle and high schools
  registered for the 2008 Day of Silence.

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National Stats (GLSEN)

• The 2009 survey of 7,261 middle and high school
  students found that at school nearly 9 out of 10
  LGBT students experienced harassment at school in
  the past year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe
  because of their sexual orientation. Nearly a
  third of LGBT students skipped at least one day
  of school in the past month because of safety
  concerns.

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Academic consequences

• The reported grade point average of students who
  were more frequently harassed because of their
  sexual orientation or gender expression was
  almost half a grade lower than for students who
  were less often harassed (2.7 vs. 3.1). Increased
  levels of victimization were related to increased
  levels of depression and anxiety and decreased
  levels of self-esteem.

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Student life diversity club

• Breaking Barriers is a student club committed to
  being men and women for others in our diverse
  student body. Embracing CURA PERSONALIS, we
  strive to support individuals while educating the
  school community on issues of diversity,
  particularly sexual orientation.

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Activities

• What does the club do?
• We meet regularly to discuss issues, share ideas,
  and socialize.
• We inform and address the student body on issues
  of diversity.
• We network with other schools (Jesuit and non) in
  the metropolitan area.
• We coordinate the schools safe space program
  which states that every student deserves a safe
  space to learn free from bullying and harassment.

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Club mission

• Everyone is welcome to join Breaking Barriers
• A STUDENT CLUB COMMITTED TO BREAKING DOWN THE
  BARRIERS AROUND ISSUES OF DIVERSITY AT PREP.
• WE WORK TO ENSURE THAT PREP IS A LOVING AND
  AFFIRMING PLACE FOR ALL STUDENTS

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Students That Oppose Prejudice
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What does inclusion look like ?

• Curriculum
• Role models
• Visuals
• Marketing tools
• Professional/development formation for teaching,
  supporting including minority students.
• Personal bias.