LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR: MATT HILL
The
March 1, 2002
Letter to the Editors
Dear Editors,
Recently, I, along with
members of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, community members,
and other students from Forsyth County Schools, spoke to the WS/FCS School
Board. We asked that they add sexual orientation and gender identity expression
to Policy 1160 (the non-discrimination statement/policy). We also asked the
board to authorize the use of school climate surveys to asses the school
climate toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) students.
Whatever the board decides,
we all must be sure to observe any changes to the non-discrimination policy, if
amended. A policy change alone is not going to change the hostile atmosphere
that LGBT students face. As human beings, each and every one of us have to be aware that certain actions of ours can hurt and
offend other people.
Let us keep the true
meaning of freedom alive. Let is respect everyone at this school and elsewhere
in a community, despite our differences.
MATT
HILL
Transcribed to computer
file: December 11, 2004
The
October 10, 2003
Letter to the Editors
Dear Editors,
Last spring a new category
in the school system’s Internet filtering software appeared. The category,
“Lesbian or Gay of Bisexual Interest,” blocks websites concerning
homosexuality, websites such as www.glsen.org , which
is the website for the national offices of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN). Is it any coincidence that the new filtering
category and the blocking of the GLSEN website came into being right after last
year’s controversy with the School Board and the addition of questions
concerning anti-gay harassment into the school system’s school climate surveys?
The addition of the
questions was spearheaded by Winston-Salem’s local chapter of GLSEN. I believe
that the blocking of the national GLSEN website and the addition of the new
filtering category is being used as a form or retaliation against the local gay
communities by members of the School Board or by staff of the WS/FC Schools.
I find it very disturbing
that anti-gay websites, as well as other websites like the KKK’s
website, can still be accessed by students, but pro-gay websites like GLSEN’s cannot. This type of censorship will only hurt
students in the long run. Without access to various types of information and
viewpoints, students will not be able to freely form their own opinions and
beliefs -- another form of bullying.
I hope that during the next
election for school board members, our city and county citizens will have
enough pride and integrity to elect those who will stand up for ALL students, regardless
of their beliefs. It is time for our leaders to stand up and make the right
decisions in order to create safe and positive learning environments for the
students entrusted to their care.
Sincerely,
Matt
Hill
Transcribed to computer
file: December 11, 2004
The
“Concerns for Equality”
Letter to the Editor
The author of the Dec. 31
letter to the editor “Intolerable Lifestyle” said that all the “gay and lesbian
clubs” should be banned from the schools. I would like the writer and community
to know that there are no “gay and lesbian” clubs in our schools. There are,
however, gay and straight clubs.
Most commonly called
gay-straight alliance, they are started by students who feel that anti-gay
harassment, homophobia and intolerance are problems in our schools. It is
common for students to perpetrate anti-gay harassment and, though it is rare,
teachers may do so as well. The problem of intolerance and homophobia even
reaches to certain members of our school board. Students in GSAs
try to raise awareness about the issues that affect gay and lesbian students,
such as harassment, prejudice and abuse. These clubs are not about sex. They are about safety and tolerance. At Reynolds
High, our GSA not only concerns itself with anti-gay harassment, but also with
all types of harassment. SPEAK (Students Promoting Equality, Awareness and
Knowledge) is for all kinds of people. According to the federal Equal Access
Act, if GSAs are banned, then all non-school spnosred clubs would have to be banned, including Christian
clubs such as Young Life and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
MATTHEW
M. HILL
FOUNDER AND CO-PRESIDENT
SPEAK
CLASS
OF 2004
Transcribed to computer
file: December 9, 2004