I had a really hard time keeping my artwork inside my locker. It seems as though a heart painting with rainbow colors is in the same category as porno and obscenity. Go figure. In short, the school is full of homophobic parents who are trying to shelter their children. After 2 weeks of fighting, several friends started a petition dealing with student rights in general. A total of 56 students, and 2 teachers signed it during the 2 days it was going around the school. At this, the school buckled, and admitted that they had violated my rights, not only when they forced me to take the painting down, but also when they pulled me into the headmistress's office after school, on two different occasions, and questioned me on my sexual activity. Which is their business. A few months later a friend of mine in the 8th grade came out. This was the last thing I thought would happen after all the shit I had gone through. Even though I was the last person to know, I'm glad I found out. We became better friends and we both felt safer knowing that we were not the only one on campus.
All of this changed on March 31, 1998. The administration had been trying to get me to kill myself, by taking away my art classes, which they knew was the only thing that I was living for. On Tuesday, March 31, I was in the art room, the admin said I was to be in study hall. This all made no since to me. I was an Art 4 student, and had been given a $1500 art scholarship to the school for the '97-'98 school year. But despite all of this, they were still trying to take art away from me. I ended up in a room, crouched in the corner, screaming at the headmistress to 'back up'. Her reply was simply ' I'm not in your personal space' 'This is inappropriate behavior young lady' 'What are you going to do? Kick me?' This went on for 30 min. At that point, my mother walked in. I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown, and I was taken to my councilor's office. With in an hour my mom had gotten me enrolled in a public high school. I am now a sophomore and doing well in the Academic Magnet. I have lost my Science credit, b/c the school doesn't offer the same science that Ashley Hall did, so I was in a computer class to fill in the science section of my schedule. My friend who was still there left at the end of the year to go to the local Catholic high school, b/c her mother believes that she only thinks she's a lesbian b/c she hasn't spent enough time around guys. She is still a lesbian. As for the few other friends I had there, one is in college now and the other transferred to the Academic Magnet this year. I still keep in touch with the one in college, and will continue to for a long time. Meanwhile I am trying to accept all that has happened to me, and I hope that one day Ashley Hall will realize how much pain they have caused me, my family and my friends.
Meet Some of the People in My Life
See Some of My Friends Webpages
Why Gays and Lesbians Need Friends
Read My Term Paper from 9th Grade
