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04/26/2006
Partly cloudy with occasional thunderstorms: GLSEN surveys school climate
A new survey from GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) found that 75.4 % of students hear derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and 89.2% reported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" -- meaning stupid or worthless -- within the same margins of frequency. Additionally, 37.8% of students indicated they've experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation and 26.1% because of their gender expression.
And here we thought school "Smear the Queer" matches were sooo 20th century. Disheartening.
However, the study did find that supportive staff members, gay-straight alliances, and comprehensive policies were all effective in lowering harassment, making students feel safe, keeping LGBT kids from missing school, and encouraging them to go on to pursue post-secondary education. Heartening.
The study did not say what benefits the anti-gay taunts brought to the young aggressors who embraced such sentiment; future embrace of the terms "pro-family," "homosexual agenda," and "sanctity of marriage," however, would seem likely.
More results below:
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