Transphobia at School

In her opinion article, Pooja discusses the persisting issue of transphobia in Grants Pass.

Transphobia In Our Community

Written by Pooja Patel, Interviews by Deenie Bulyalert

Discrimination against transgender people has been a persisting and more visible issue within our community, of which society needs to be aware. Transphobia is the dislike of or prejudice against transgender people. Often, many people voice their opinions against transphobia on social media and preach about it. However, sometimes we forget to notice it around us and are too late to take action against it. Recently, some events occurred that have brought attention to transphobic issues in our very own community.

Recently, at North Middle School in Grants Pass, two educators have organized an online campaign to create resolutions to the recently passed (in the Oregon House) Equality Act, if it should become passed by the Oregon Senate. These two educators are encouraging people to “resolve” to submit resolutions to the equality act that would directly affect our children in their schools. Their main points are to create a resolution to rename school restrooms as “anatomically female” and “anatomically male” instead of boys and girls. Another resolution states that students can only request to be called by their pronouns and name if their teachers and parents agree on it, and if that name is a derivative of the name on their birth certificate.

These two resolutions are wrong on many levels. First, it is immoral to label which students are anatomically female or male. In the 21st century, humans should have the choice and freedom to express who they are and live their lives according to their preferred sexuality. Renaming school restrooms may make trans people feel violated and in danger. School is supposed to be a safe place for all students, not just the students that our society thinks are "normal." If transgender students cannot feel safe at schools and instead feel discriminated against, what is the school district even doing? A human’s gender identity is a personal and life decision that educators should not be working against or doing anything that can negatively affect a student's mental health. Every student should be given the respect to be their most authentic self and identify how they feel comfortable. Taking that away from them is a violation of human rights. Choosing names and pronouns to be called by should be left to students. How can teachers take that right away from anyone? It is enough that many students already feel judged and not accepted in society, with all of the different opinions toward people that identify as transgender. They should not also be judged or feel violated at school. Teachers should be people that students can feel comfortable around and freely express themselves, not have to be forced to fake their identity and to be someone they are not.

It is okay to have different opinions on these topics, but once opinions start to act against someone's identity and their safety, especially when you are an educator, there needs to be a serious change to the system. Why do those educators feel the need to start judging and labeling students off of their genitals? Why can't they call students by the pronouns and names that they want to be called? This is the most minimum thing asked by many students in this judgmental society. Teachers have no clue what a student goes through at home, and do not need to add on to their worries and mental health struggles at school. It is important for every child and student to express themselves through their identity, name, and their true self in order to thrive in life. These actions against them are stopping them from doing so.

The ladies proposing these resolutions are from North Middle School: the assistant principal, Rachel Damiano (rdamiano@grantspass.k12.or.us), and a 7th grade Science teacher, Katie Medart (kmedart@grantspass.k12.or.us). It is time to do something about this toxic and harmful issue. We can no longer ignore or pretend transphobia does not exist in our very own community. We may see it everywhere else, but it is hard to see and do something about it in our very own community. However, the change begins with us.

In order to take action against these educators, please write an email to the school district, North Middle School principal (tmblanchard@grantspass.k12.or.us) and/or Grants Pass superintendent (kkolb@grantspass.k12.or.us ). Let them know that this behavior is not acceptable and some actions need to be taken in order to create a safe environment for trans students and all students who identify as different, preferred sexualities. Trans rights are human rights and that type of thinking and transphobia does NOT belong anywhere-- and definitely never in an educational setting. Trans students already experience many hardships and difficulties in life. These “resolutions” do not need to add on to those challenges. Bring a change in the school system, and that change and action will begin with you and what you decide to do next.

Student Interviews

When you first heard about the I Resolve movement how did it make you feel? What was your initial reaction?

"As a lot of people were, I was angry with what I Resolve was asking for. We have come a long way to try to make Grants Pass High School safer for LGBTQ+ students, especially with the equity policy recently put in place. It feels like a slap in the face to have our efforts tried to be torn down. We just got this equity policy and now people want to get rid of it. It’s upsetting and incredibly disappointing to see educators attack students' identity when they’re supposed to be one of our greatest supporters."
"Anger. Just anger. But then I calmed down because that’s what these people want. They want a reaction and they want to feel powerful because they think, for whatever reason, they’re oppressed just because some people want to be who they are. Sometimes, I forget that I’m supposed to be the kid in these scenarios with how mature I’ve had to be to counteract the childish behavior of these adults. "
"I was a bit confused because I saw it in a post and, for some reason, it just did not make sense in my head, but then I further discussed it with my friends and I just thought it was incredibly disgusting for these educators to not only discuss personal information of a minor, but also take it as far as to act like they care, and then create this 'resolution.' "

How do you feel now about this movement?

"I’m still angry about I Resolve, but now I’m trying to focus on ways to move forward and make sure that this doesn’t happen again. Educators are supposed to teach and accept every student they come in contact with. Sadly these two people behind I Resolve failed to do so."
"So stupid. These people think they’re some kind of martyr group. How bored and filled with hatred do you have to be to start picking on literal children?"
"It makes me angry. So, so angry. It hurts knowing how many students could have been affected by these two educators. Us students spend a majority of our lives surrounded by teachers in a school. We are supposed to feel safe. We are meant to know that teachers are going to try their hardest to make us feel comfortable and those educators have failed us. They failed us and I hope they know that."

What do you think should happen to the two ladies involved in this movement?

"I think that these two ladies should be fired. As I said before, educators need to be aware that, when you come into a job like this, you need to be prepared to come in contact with all students. You need to be willing to teach and accept everyone-- no matter what religion, ethnic background, race, gender, or sexuality they are. Your job is not to question who they are. If you cannot do that, then you should not be a teacher."
"Fired. No educator who lets their personal beliefs stand in the way of giving kids a quality education and a safe environment away from a possibly turbulent home life. They do not deserve to be educators at all. There is a limit to how far free speech can protect you when it’s for the sake of impeding someone’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness."
"Not only do I think they should be fired, but I think they shouldn't have the ability to teach anymore. Imagine how many students they might jeopardize in the future due to the actions they decide to exhibit into this world."

How do you feel/think about the way the district handled this situation?

"I have high expectations for the district when it comes to situations like this. I’m glad that they addressed the issue, but the work is not done. I’d like to see these teachers fired, and more training should be put in place for teachers; more specifically, training surrounding minority-based issues."
"They handled it ideally. I don’t really have any complaints besides the fact that I wish we hadn’t let such unprofessional, hateful people into our kids' space in the first place."
"I think the district handled it as best they could and I really appreciate how fast they worked on this. I am a bit upset that the results of what will happen to these teachers won't be out for a while, but it is what it is and I feel like so far they are getting what they deserve."

Additional thoughts? Concerns?

"I hope anyone who supports them and the people responsible for this movement understand that love is stronger than ignorance and hate. How much more will you justify your hate with the same god who only ever preached love? And to our district: how many times will you let this slide just to play hero when you do damage control? What can you do to make sure that our most vulnerable don’t have to endure something like this in the first place ever again? Thank you for how seriously you’ve handled this situation. I know the community feels grateful, but I also hope that this will open up your eyes to the trauma that us kids are enduring every day that goes unheard by your ears. I hope the takeaway from this movement is that we need more compassion, action, and understanding more than ever. We need training and resources for people. Apathy is fed by stagnance and ignorance. "

"To those people and to the people who signed their resolution, I hope you know the amount of hurt you to students and this whole community. There is no excuse for their actions, no matter how many times anyone tells me an excuse. Teachers and other staff have to go to sleep each night wondering what they can do to help and being crippled with the inability to do anything. If you were wanting to live in the heads of people and hurt people then you have succeeded and I want you to know that you will not win this fight because we have so many people on our side. "

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