Gay Student Harassed by School Staff (high school, homosexual, laws, discrimination)

[PurpleLove08]

Rochelle Hamilton, a high school student at Jesse Bethel High School in the Vallejo City Unified School District, faced anti-gay harassment and discrimination from teachers and school staff and was required to participate in a school-sponsored “counseling” group designed to discourage students from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

Hamilton reports that while some of the harassment she suffered came from other students, most of the time it came from school teachers and staff. Specific incidents included:

• A teacher approached Hamilton while she was hugging her girlfriend and said, “This is ungodly, and you’re going to hell. This is a sin.”
• Another teacher said, “What’s wrong with you? What are you, a man or a woman?”
• Other school staff made repeated harassing comments to Hamilton in front of her classmates, including saying, “it’s not right to be this way.”
• Hamilton was also on several occasions denied access to the girls’ locker room.

High School Student Takes On Anti-Gay Harassment—And Wins

[afoigrokerkok]

That's terrible.

I'm sorry to hear about what this girl had to endure.

[twinArmageddons]

I feel bad for Hamilton that she had to go through that sort of thing. I'm glad it all got sorted out, though.

[NVplumber]

Truthfully, this girl should be thankful she is in high school now and not 20 or 25 years or so ago. Such overt behavior by a gay student in those days would have resulted in some pretty nasty reprisal. Things may not be tolerant enough these days to suit some folks, but it has come a far piece.

[LoneWolf88]

So we heterosexuals have to be put through the stupid sensitivity training crap and deal with it yet when it comes to some homosexual they get to file lawsuits and complain? Ah yes sounds perfectly correct. She just needs to suck it up and move on. I swear every time you turn around some "minority" or homosexual is filing lawsuits because people picked on them. Jeez. Just grow up!

[vsmoove]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf88

So we heterosexuals have to be put through the stupid sensitivity training crap and deal with it yet when it comes to some homosexual they get to file lawsuits and complain? Ah yes sounds perfectly correct. She just needs to suck it up and move on. I swear every time you turn around some "minority" or homosexual is filing lawsuits because people picked on them. Jeez. Just grow up!

I see you were picked on as a kid... but I trust it was not because you were heterosexual, was it?

[cleanhouse]

Does anyone think Lindsey Lohan is finding lesbian discrimination out there?

[newtoli]

I admire her courage to take the school on... I have a friend who suffered in a similar manner and was too embarrassed to bring publicity towards it, and just suffered through to Graduation.

[newtoli]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf88

So we heterosexuals have to be put through the stupid sensitivity training crap and deal with it yet when it comes to some homosexual they get to file lawsuits and complain? Ah yes sounds perfectly correct. She just needs to suck it up and move on. I swear every time you turn around some "minority" or homosexual is filing lawsuits because people picked on them. Jeez. Just grow up!

How would you feel if it was a gay teacher telling your straight son that he was going to hell for hugging his girlfriend? Or a gay teacher telling your son he was disgusting for doing it?

[fp1978]

The people who made those comments to her are idiots, but this is ridiculous. Since when did it become some kind of right to never be offended by the comments of others? As for the teachers, they need to be dealt with. Not for their how their comments were "politically incorrect", but because they are there to teach things like math, science, literature, etc., not to dispense social commentary.