( Jacob’s case was settled in federal court on March 29, 2010, The Associated Press reported. Under the settlement, the district agreed to implement changes to protect students from harassment, including additional staff training. The district will report on its progress to the Civil Liberties Union and federal justice officials. In addition, the district also agreed to pay $50,000 to Jacob’s family and to reimburse them for counseling services. The district did not admit to any wrongdoing under the settlement. Update by Noel Aliseo)
Homo. Faggot. I wish you would die.
Those are among the taunts that Jacob, a 15-year-old student at a Mohawk Valley high school, alleges in a landmark lawsuit that he had to endure daily at school.
The suit, filed by Jacob and his father in August, has drawn attention from the federal government as a new frontier in civil liberties. The lawsuit raises issues surrounding gender stereotyping, with Jacob alleging that he was harassed because he did not match the “typical male stereotype.” Jacob wore eyeliner to school, often dyed his hair bright blue or pink, and openly acknowledged he was gay.
His lawsuit accuses officials of his school, Gregory B. Jarvis Junior/Senior High School, of failing to protect him from both verbal and physical harassment. School officials strongly dispute the allegations.
In a statement released by the school district in January, shortly after the federal Justice Department joined in the suit on Jacob’s behalf, school superintendent Joyce Caputo said the district “has not and will not knowingly tolerate discrimination or harassment of its students by anyone.”
The lawsuit has struck a chord with advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender — or LGBT — students, who say it’s more evidence of harassment and discrimination.
The Coalition for Safer Schools of New York State is a group, headquartered in Malta, N.Y., that researches LGBT issues and advocates on behalf of LGBT students. For a 2007 national study, it surveyed hundreds of teachers and students of all different backgrounds and communities. The study reports these statistics:
- 97 percent of students report regularly hearing homophobic slurs from their peers.
- The average gay teenager hears homophobic comments or slurs about 25.5 times a day.
- Teachers fail to intervene in 97 percent of incidents regarding anti-gay slurs at school.
- Less than 20 percent of guidance counselors have received any training on serving gay and lesbian students.
Those findings outrage and energize advocates of civil rights and protection for the LGBT community. “No student would get away with using a racial slur or a curse word in a classroom,” said Amit Taneja, the associate director of the LGBT Resource Center at Syracuse University. Taneja also volunteers at a LGBT resource center for young students in Syracuse.
But, he said, too often students call each other a fag or a dyke and some teachers simply turn a deaf ear. Those teachers ignore the slurs, said Taneja, “because they don’t want to touch the hot potato” of sexual orientation.
Education is key for both teachers and students to help stop harassment, say supporters of LGBT resource centers. And school administrators need to be part of the support system, they say.
Sometimes, Taneja said, “Even the teachers or counselors who are educated on how to support LGBT students are afraid that they are going to be penalized for doing so.”
The lawsuit by Jacob, the Mohawk Valley high school senior, alleges that the principal and other district officials did not follow their own anti-harassment policies. In the lawsuit, there is allegations that say a teacher blocked him from going to a “safe room” set up for him and that one teacher even told him he should be ashamed of himself for being gay, according to court papers.
The U.S. Justice Department has joined in the suit on behalf of Jacob. The case argues that the antidiscrimination law covers sex discrimination based on gender stereotypes. This applies to Jacob because the alleged harassment occurred in a school that receives federal funding.
The New York Civil Liberties Union says that Jacob’s lawsuit is important because it reaches beyond the Mohawk Central School District. The group portrays the suit as a push to get federal protection for LGBT students across the nation.
Said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union: “We will pursue our lawsuit until the Mohawk Central School District makes the long-term solutions necessary to ensure that all students are safe at school and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
In a press release from civil liberties group, Jacob is quoted as making a personal plea for understanding and protection. “People always make fun of what they don’t understand, but the school has a responsibility to protect people,” Jacob is quoted as saying. “I shouldn’t have to fear for my safety in school. No one should.”
(Noel Aliseo is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and Spanish.)
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