High schoolers lend silent support to gay peers

Enochs and Oakdale teens join in national on-campus protests

By MERRILL BALASSONE
mbalassone@modbee.com

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Sophomore Jacob Shackelford walked an Enochs High School hallway on Friday with his girlfriend on one arm and a black armband that said "Erase Hate" on the other.

The 16-year-old, who is straight, spent most of his day in silence to bring attention to the name-calling and bullying experienced by some of his gay and lesbian classmates. Jacob said he was the target of glares and some homosexual slurs in return.

"I just kept my head high and kept walking," he said. "I support my friends the way they are. I wish more people saw that."

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Students at Enochs and Oakdale high schools, along with 6,000 middle and high schools around the country, took part in a silent protest against the harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and their supporters, called the National Day of Silence.

At Enochs, students made armbands that read "Promote Peace," "Love is Love" and "God doesn't hate." Others wore tributes to Lawrence King, an openly gay Southern California eighth-grader who was shot and killed in his school's computer lab in February. Lawrence allegedly was killed because of his sexual orientation.

At lunchtime, students gathered in a "Silent Space" in the school's quad.

"The kids are really courageous to step forward and stand up for what they believe in," said Debbie Adair, Enochs High's Gay-Straight Alliance Club leader. "I think that's just so admirable of people their age."

Several parents called Enochs High about the day's events, some threatening to pull their children out of school as a result of the silent protest, Adair said.

About 30 students at Oakdale High also spent the day, and their communal lunch period, in silence.

"We definitely made a very loud statement with our silence," said Michael McKibban, an Oakdale GSA adviser. "There were some intolerant comments, but there was a fair amount of respect for what they were doing."

Keith Highiet, board president of the Stanislaus PRIDE Center, said a shift in popular culture that includes gay icons such as Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell has made it easier for students to "come out" on campus in recent years.

But the boundaries broken by Hollywood don't always translate into teenage social circles.

"I still think the same feelings of the unknown and the same fears persist," Highiet said. "There are still going to be those kids, especially in school, (who are) just going to punish and harass people they see as weaker or see as people they can step on."

In 1996, Modesto City Schools began crafting a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy to protect students from harassment on campus.

Then-Superintendent Jim Enochs said he was spurred to action after hearing the high school-age son of a former student describe being tormented at school for being gay.

The students broke their day of silence Friday night at a "Make Some Noise" rally at Modesto's King-Kennedy Memorial Center.

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.