'2 '~—~—-:--,--‘o‘y:v" ‘> *. .3,» ,r :~'.~': :'.- .- .-new 4 | Out in the Mountains [September 2000 =.news :- Headline for Samara BY MATT WEBB In the inaugural year their scholarship program, the Samara Foundation of Vermont chose three college- \ bound members of the Vermont high school class of 2000. OITM interviewed the young women before they left to start their college lives. of what others will think.” In school, Emily has found that among teachers, “It’s just so hetero-centered. It would help if teachers started recog- nizing GLBT kids and learned how to respond to harassing comments.” To that end, Emily credits her GSA and advisor Mr. Jean Berthiaume for plan- Emily Virkler will attend Syracuse Unive -\ ity in Ne York isfall. Emily Virkler Emily Virkler of Waitsfield has some advice for fellow allies whose friends or family members come out to them: “If they’re choosing you, it’s real- ly special, because they know they can trust you.” Based on her experience with her younger sister Gretchen, a bisexual, Emily emphasizes, “It is important not to force [their coming out]. Let them say it on their own, even if you suspect what they are going to say. Listen, because they just want to get it out.” Emily understands the tur- moil that can come with a young person’s identifying as GLBT. She remembers how Gretchen was harassed at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury. When Gretchen founded Harwood’s Gay- Straight Alliance, Emily became the only senior mem- ber. Over the past year, she has relished events that have linked her GSA with those across the state, such as the vegan dinner in Harwood’s Cafe that helped spawn a GSA at Spaulding High School in Barre." She describes as “awesome” last year’s statewide GSA confer- ence at Middlebury Union High School. Since her identification with the GSA, Emily has found in her social group kindred voices of disapproval for rampant homophobia, so often from boys, and for teachers who fail to respond to anti-gay slurs. “I’m so proud of men who break the taboos and tell their guy friends how much they care,” Emily explains. Of more insecure men, she says, “When you break it down, most aren’t as prejudiced as they seem, which is really worse than A ignorance. They’re just afraid ning faculty workshops that will help teachers become more responsive to harassment. The importance of safe space for all in «school tran- scends Emily’s Harwood expe- rience. Sherecalls growing up in a family that accepted her gay aunt and learning a mes- sage of tolerance and open- mindedness , at Waitsfield Elementary School. In fact, that experience of multi-age teamed classes has inspired Emily to become a primary- level teacher. She plans to study different cultures as a sociology and elementary edu- cation major at Syracuse University. Then, Emily hopes to return to Vermont to share her appreciation of human dif- ferences with a first, second, and third grade multi-age class. Emily’s guiding principle reflects her accepting nature and care for all children. “Even if their parents aren’t saying that they love and accept their children,” Emily shares, “they will hear it from me early on that everyone is beautiful.” Kristen Bisaillon Kristen Bisaillon knows how to make herself heard while maintaining her tact and composure. As her writing teacher at Mill River Union High School, I watched with admiration this past year as she expertly navigated the line Scholarship Winners Kristen Bisaillon. begins classes at Allegheny College in Pennsylvannia this month. between radical outspokenness and positive compromise. Working from the inside of seemingly intransigent com- munities is an old habit for Kristen. It has been six years since her mother, Diane Hamel of Wallingford, came out as a lesbian in conservative Rutland County. Kristen recounts her experience of having a gay par- ent starting in seventh grade, “It was totally new, a culture shock, but all my friends were okay with it.” After the first year, Kristen began to meet other kids with gay and lesbian families near their former hometown of Clarendon Springs. As. for the rest of the world, Kristen set high expectations and insisted they make way for her and her family’s uniqueness. Fast forward to last fall. Kristen had become editor of the yearbook and a lead con- tributor and layout editor for Mill River’s school newspaper, The Oracle. As one of her first assignments, Kristen surveyed the student body for an article on civil unions, citing her irri- tation with the “stereotypes, slurs, and rumors about gay faculty.” The initial response was a shock to her. “At first, it seemed all of the surveys were negative,” she recalls. “The more I read them, the more I realized they weren’t as bad as I thought. But I needed to do something.” In October, Kristen and a friend headed for the LEAD young women’s conference at Vermont Technical College in Randolph. They returned with a sense of direction, armed Golden Threads t Contact Publication for Lesbians over 50. and younger. (802) 848-8(D2 GGD .mm Sample copy 85 Uslcanada Jotherauumtrles $10 httpzl I fihnudImm.mn Po Box 1509, Demorist, GA 30535 with infomiation and prepared to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at Mill River. The administra- tion’s response was quick and negative. “No,” she recounts being told, “the community won’t be ready for it. This isn’t how we do things at Mill River.” She was then directed to the ' school nurse, the substance‘ abuse counselor, and even a paraprofessional in charge of tutoring. All were supportive, but Kristen’s patience with the run-around wore thin. “Finally,” she continues, “we had a conversation with the principal. He asked us if we were ‘that way’. We said it did- n’t matter. He kept us there for an hour and a half, telling us about his daughter’s friend who is ‘like that’ and asserting ‘I am a man.”’ That was enough for her, and she got in touch with GLAD attorney Jennifer Levi in Boston. Assured of the law and the facts, she and her friend started Mill River’s Diversity Club. Rainbow-adorned posters and the number for Outright popped up in the halls around the school. Since then, Kristen has gath- ered experience through an internship at Out in the Mountains and by leading Mill River’s delegation to the civil union hearings on a snowy night in January. This fall, Kristen will head for Allegheny College in Pennsylvania armed with memories of successes. There, she expects to major in English and journalism and to work for gay rights and other awareness groups. In her absence, she expects Vermonters to “support the civil union law and contin- ue acting as a role model for the rest of the country.” Hannah Hatter starts studies at Mount Holyoke College this yeah Hannah Hafter For Hannah Hafter, “queer” is an all-encompassing term for her life. A self-described Harry Potter look-alike, she explains, “I like to identify as strange. It reflects who I am as well as my politics, which are radical.” Her powerful energy and proud individuality have taken her from coming out after eighth grade through South Burlington High School to Mount Holyoke College this fall. There, she will major in Critical Social Thought, which she defines as “an applied activism major.” Hannah is clearly centered in doing and being, so she lists her accomplishments with dif- .-f1culty, preferring to share anecdotes of the events that happened along the way. Most recently, Hannah linked her affiliation with Outright Vermont and her work on the program committee of 242 Main to create Queer Band Night. A center for her activism, 242 Main is the downtown Burlington youth space located below Memorial Auditorium. Queer Band Night began with a phone call from Hannah to the band The Need in Olympia, Washington. She enjoys what she calls their “cir- cus/Frankenstein music” and chose to call them and lesbian fifiitifirghrz» 3' ”t7'le_§t/igyaur hnrinerr connect‘ in die world. " r. (802) 434-2954 ‘E. info@keamdesignworks.com Visit us on the web at wvvw.l