| BY VEE WITZEL HEADLINE NEWS EDITOR Corner Canyon, unfortunately, has a well-known reputation for being one of the most homophobic schools around. Our school got a lot of attention when former student, Hunter Allen, told a large news cable just how severe the bullying at this school had gotten. But that was a few years ago- has the situation gotten better? In most instances, younger generations are more accepting, especially of the LGBT community, than older generations are. But here at Corner Canyon, we are just the opposite. |  |
As far as faculty goes- the answer is actually yes. From the perspective of an LGBT student, the adults here have gotten much better at supporting everyone. Several teachers ask students for their pronouns, the school allowed students to start a gay-straight alliance, and on Canvas there’s now an option to add your pronouns.
Every LGBT student at this school, out or closeted, could tell stories about things we have heard or seen from other students that have made us uncomfortable or even scared to be around them. At our football game last week, several students were taking pictures with a pride flag with the purpose to make fun of it. It’s possible that they didn’t intend this action to be harmful at all, and they likely didn’t realize there were any LGBT students who could see them. But there were, and seeing them use a symbol that to us is supposed to bring a sense of safety and pride in ourselves, as a joke, was indescribably hurtful.
Below are the accounts of several other real life experiences from current students. Chargers- we HAVE to do better. These are students you go to class with, that you see everyday. Your words matter, and right now, the words that LGBT students are hearing at school are not kind, and they hurt.
This is not to say that every Charger has this issue. As Loren Weller, senior, put it, “a lot of people are kind and accepting, but some can be tough cookies.” Thank you to everyone at this school who supports us and makes us feel safe and accepted. To those who may need to be more conscious of their actions, Loren puts it best: stop being such a tough cookie.
Every LGBT student at this school, out or closeted, could tell stories about things we have heard or seen from other students that have made us uncomfortable or even scared to be around them. At our football game last week, several students were taking pictures with a pride flag with the purpose to make fun of it. It’s possible that they didn’t intend this action to be harmful at all, and they likely didn’t realize there were any LGBT students who could see them. But there were, and seeing them use a symbol that to us is supposed to bring a sense of safety and pride in ourselves, as a joke, was indescribably hurtful.
Below are the accounts of several other real life experiences from current students. Chargers- we HAVE to do better. These are students you go to class with, that you see everyday. Your words matter, and right now, the words that LGBT students are hearing at school are not kind, and they hurt.
This is not to say that every Charger has this issue. As Loren Weller, senior, put it, “a lot of people are kind and accepting, but some can be tough cookies.” Thank you to everyone at this school who supports us and makes us feel safe and accepted. To those who may need to be more conscious of their actions, Loren puts it best: stop being such a tough cookie.
 | Anonymous Accounts of LGBT Students “At lunch a popular boy came up to my friends and I, called us all the f-slur, and said the way we live goes against laws of physics. It hurts to see so many people support him when he treats people like this.” “We were looking through the yearbook and saw the Skittles Club. I was excited to tell my friend that my brother helped start the club. He asked me, ‘Can only gay people join that club, or can normal people join too?’” |
“One student calls me slurs or other things like ‘miss LGBTQ.’ He also calls anyone who uses different pronouns an ‘it.’ He’s on a sports team here and so many teammates do the same things. It sucks because since they’re on the sports team it doesn’t matter if you report it because they’re not going to get punished for it.”
“A kid in my class was saying a lot of transphobic stuff and saying a lot of slurs. Listening to that did not feel good, and made me feel really bad to know that people at our school think of so many of my friends like that.”
“A kid in my class was saying a lot of transphobic stuff and saying a lot of slurs. Listening to that did not feel good, and made me feel really bad to know that people at our school think of so many of my friends like that.”
