Lila Clapp, Freshman
While spending their four years in high school, students are faced with numerous Herculean tasks that force them to question themselves and the people they surround themselves with. While yes, grades need to be maintained and good impressions must be made, many students struggle with their identity and are concerned about how people will view them.
LGBTQIA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual and asexual. For generations, LGBTQIA people have been told that they are wrong by churches and the people in their communities. Movements to promote gay rights didn’t start until the 1960s, and even today, gay rights have been denied across the United States of America.
According to the Bucks County Herald, at the beginning of the school year, the Pennridge School Board banned LGBT-centered books from elementary school libraries. This new trend in legislation has led to social shunning of LGBT+ students across the United States.
In Oklahoma, a bill was brought up to the State Senate that suggested a ban on books that focused on “gender identity, sexual activity,” and sexual identity. Not only are academic pursuits limited, but extracurricular activities are targeted as well. Nine states and counting have ratified laws that prevent transgender women or girls from participating in sports. The states include Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and West Virginia. In the end, this will lead to a loss in participation and a loss in funding these activities.
It can be easy to focus on the negative qualities of our world. Often when someone pulls up the latest breaking news on CNN, it tends to focus on the world’s demise. It is very easy to get your thoughts in a cycle where you're constantly thinking about the world coming to an end. Very few articles are published these days that actually focus on the change that people are inflicting on the world.
After the ban in Pennridge School District, six infuriated moms with students in the district rose up to reintroduce these books back into the community. Their movement was called the Pennridge Improvement Project (PIP), and they brought in 120 books and counting to immerse the students in Pennridge in the LGBTQIA community. Parents, activists, lawmakers and school board members are protesting against the laws set in place in the nine states listed above, according to an article from the New York Times.
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