INSIDE: House Bill 2567 PG. 4

counselor added that there were strategies in place to help students feel more comfortable. “So, there’s a number of things that probably need to be addressed, first would be talking to our staff about our LGBTQ community, and how to support our students in that community,” the counselor said. “It’s hard with the student population so I would hit the GSA first, just because they know who their friends are that live in those pockets of communities that may not have been able to come ‘out’ yet. Then if teachers know the true intent of the district’s interpretation of the law they can say ‘hey, I know you’re struggling or I know that you’d like somebody to talk to you, here’s what that looks like.’” The compassion displayed by the counseling staff and many staff members benefits kids. Teachers and staff not being able to ask students their pronouns put kids in the awkward position of having to take the initiative to approach adults even when they don’t feel safe. The quandary of the new restrictions leaves both staff members and students looking for workable solutions. “Obviously we can’t just break the law. But like, what can we try to do? I would like to say talk some sense and that wouldn’t work,” said Smith. “‘Cause if I did anything my dad, still no matter what, wouldn’t accept it, but counselors could give them [parents] stuff to look at, research and access to information on how they see this negatively affecting people.” The staff meetings, school district protocols and teacher strategies discussed by staff members impact students directly. Yet, teens often know more about this issue than adults. They can be an invaluable resource and consideration should be given to include them in discussions and planning of policies that directly affect them. “Kids are treated as if they know nothing about their identity until the moment, they turn 18,” freshman Jesse White* said. “A lot of the time, kids will know, or at least have a vague idea of who they are from a very young age, like five-years-old. But they’re still treated like, ‘oh, you’re not 18 yet, you don’t know s***.’ It’s just very harmful because part of growing up is exploring your identity. But it’s just treated like, ‘no, you can’t know anything about who you are’. Yeah, kids are seen as people that don’t know anything about anything. And so, parents end up having more control over their life.” Teens want to have more of a say in who they are. Laws like HB2567 give parents more control over their child’s identity than the children themselves. To help kids feel safer being their authentic selves at school, BV West has a no tolerance for discrimination policy (that touches on gender identity, among other things), but not many teachers have the knowledge to highlight its importance or are now confused about how to handle pronoun and name changes. Unless discussed with students in classes or Advisory, there is no awareness that the policy exists, or how important it is. “Well, I am okay, so I asked a teacher that I have recently. And she said, I had to talk to my dad about it,” Smith said. “And he basically just did not approve it. And he was like, ‘oh I’m not going to use those pronouns for you because it doesn’t make sense.’ He even said, ‘I understand people who are transgender to use those pronouns, but other people who use they/them pronouns for like nonbinary people.’ He does not understand, so I can’t use those pronouns at school, and that’s because he doesn’t approve. So, because my teacher said that I needed at least one parent to approve, and I can’t talk to my mom about it. So yeah, I can’t use those unfortunately.” While teachers appear to have mixed messages about how to support students when it comes to personal gender information, students are caught in the middle of trying to be their authentic selves and feel protected from judgment at school or at home. Bonnema expressed support for students struggling with communicating their identity in either setting. “So, if the student is not ‘out’ yet at home but is asking a teacher to refer to them by a different name, or pronouns in a class, that kind of puts them at risk by any one of the humans in that room to be outed,” Bonnema said. “We want to make sure we’re supporting them through that process, helping them connect with family and be able to help them prepare for that hard conversation.” Some non-binary students appear to be trapped in the very definition of a “generation gap.” Parents can be confused, and even hostile, to the realities of their children not being a stereotypical teenager. “It’s honestly, stupid. It’s just stupid how a parent has to be approved of it before,” Smith said. “Honestly, anyone. Parents just don’t understand, especially with parents that were taught differently as a kid. This is not okay.”

*Because of the sensitive nature of the topic, some of the sources for this story have chosen to remain anonymous.

05 Mallory Love

Image by: K. Bergeron inherit the wind

STUDENT APART OF THEATER PROGRAM DEEP DIVE INTO FALL PLAY ...

his fall, the theater department at BVW curated and perfected a play, titled “Inherit the Wind.” “Inherit the Wind” is a courtroom drama, lightly based upon the real life Scopes Monkey Trial that took place in the early 20s,” said senior Jake Barton. The Scopes Monkey Trial that took place in 1925, involves a case about the controversy of teaching evolution to students. The relationship between the characters make this play both noteworthy, and relatable for the audience. “...There’s a lot of dynamics between two lawyers who you know they respect each other but this is something that they strongly oppose within their own opinions,” said Barton. It’s one of the most noticeable dynamics that can be observed throughout the scenes. And while the character personalities within the actual play present themselves to be unique themselves, being able to act out these characteristics was no easy task for the cast members here at West. “The first thing I tried to figure out was my character voice. It took a while to figure out what to do with it. Because at first, I had this really low voice that didn’t sound real, so I had to work on it. And once I finally figured out the character voice, then I dove deeper into what the meaning of all my lines were and the themes for all my characters and stuff,” said Senior Mihir Apte. He goes on to describe what the process was like, trying to get into character, and representing all the unique aspects and characteristics of each role within the play.