In 2011 and 2012, Colorado state lawmakers attempted to create an act in which same-sex marriages were recognized and provided the same rights as opposite-sex marriages, but it wasn’t until March of this year that Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the bill and made it law. With changes being made to Colorado laws, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community at Fossil Ridge High School sat down and answered personal questions related to issues they face.
Senior Andrew Conrad said he has known he was gay since middle school, and chose to tell his family and friends at the end of his freshman year at FRHS. “My mom cried,” he said. “Family usually has a harder time accepting it than friends do.”
Overall, Conrad’s parents and friends were supportive of the news. “It wasn’t really a big shock to any of [my friends].”
During Conrad’s junior year of high school, he joined the FRHS junior varsity cheer team. While at a competition with the team,
Conrad was discriminated against because of his gender and sexuality in a female dominated sport. “They wouldn’t teach me the routines because I am a male,” he said. The U.S. All Star Federation changed some of the rules of competitive cheerleading last March, including making a rule stating “Males-minimize exaggerated or theatrical movements.” While Conrad was allowed to perform stunts, the instructors at one of the competition workshops would not teach him the dance routine, making him ineligible to compete. “This year, I couldn’t be on varsity with the rest of the seniors because the varsity level competes,” he explained. “Since I’m a guy, they won’t teach me the choreography I need to know to take part in cheer competitions.”
Because Conrad cannot compete with the rest of the FRHS team, he is not taking part in cheer during his senior year.
While this negative experience prevents Conrad from doing something he loves, it doesn’t hold him back. “I don’t think I’ve been discriminated against really, but I’ve definitely been bullied,” he said. “In the past, I’ve dealt with bullying through the dean of students but for the most part, people don’t really bug me about it.”
Fellow senior and recent winner of the 2013 FRHS talent show, Jackson Bailey realized after entering high school that “the way I was looking at guys wasn’t just admiration, it was actual attraction.”
Bailey came out to his peers around Christmas during his sophomore year, and felt that his family was incredibly supportive of his announcement.
When it comes to discrimination, Bailey is the target of sexual slurs from strangers. “I don’t care,” he said. “They can think whatever they want. Sometimes when I get frustrated, I respond with ‘hey hetero’ or I just make them feel uncomfortable.”
While Bailey’s friends were supportive, one of his peer’s parents weren’t. “It was kind of sad because they wouldn’t let me hang out with [my friend].”
Overall, Bailey’s experience with coming out to his peers and family has been positive. “Literally everything just opened up,” he said. “I am a lot more open to people. I stopped keeping secrets from everyone. There was this huge burden that was just lifted off my shoulders.”
FRHS senior and marching band tuba player Bryan DeWar has a different story. “I always knew I was gay, I just didn’t know what to call it.”
Growing up in Minnesota, DeWar kept his identity from the people around him. “If you come out as gay in that community, you won’t receive as much support,” he said. When DeWar moved to Fort Collins at 7, he felt more open to be himself. By the end of his freshman year, DeWar came out to his family and friends. “My friends acted like it was a bet that they called,” he said. “My family was actually really supportive.”
The first person DeWar told was his grandfather, who is from Minnesota. “He was the last person I wanted to tell but he ended up being the first,” he recalled. “I ended up crying a lot on the phone but he told me that as long as I was still me, he would always love me.”
While DeWar didn’t face any discrimination in Minnesota where he assumed he would receive the most, he has been the target of bullying since coming to FRHS because of his sexual orientation. During the beginning of his junior year, DeWar was in his car in the FRHS parking lot when another student pulled their car behind DeWar’s, blocking him from backing out.According to DeWar, the student then yelled sexual slurs at DeWar before driving away. DeWar brushed the incident off until the same incident occurred with the same student at a later date.This time, the student yelled “we are going to get you.”
With FRHS tightening their security because of school shootings taking place across the nation, DeWar couldn’t brush off the threat to his personal safety. He went straight to the Dean of students. “When something like that happens, the rest of the deans and I take it very seriously” said Dean Wolff who worked with DeWar. “We document the incident and then take the appropriate actions.”
While Fort Collins is known for its alternative lifestyle, DeWar feels uneasy in his surroundings. “In Fort Collins, I feel like I have to watch my back,” he said. “In Old Town especially, I feel very defensive since that’s where I hear a lot of people yelling [slurs] at me.”
Even with DeWar’s experiences with discrimination, he keeps a positive outlook. “I appreciate people better and a lot more,” said DeWar of his life after coming out. “People of different ethnicities, religions and sexual preferences, I understand them a little bit more.”
Although not part of the LGBT community herself, senior Grace Klibbe also comes from a non-traditional family. Grace was adopted before she turned six months old but she maintains an open relationship with her birth parents. Klibbe’s birth mother identifies as gay and has been married to her partner of seven years since 2010. Since Klibbe’s adoption was open, she still regularly sees her birth mother and plays a great part in influencing Klibbe’s life.
Klibbe looks up to her birth mother, especially admiring her strength. “I see people discriminating against my birth mom all the time, especially when we are out in public together,” she said. “She handles these situations very well because she is such an assertive person.”
Klibbe also said that since she does have a strong connection to the LGBT community, she is much more accepting. “I support [the community],” she said. “I am an ally. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t support [the community].”
Many FRHS students openly support the LGBT community within their high school, as well as around the world. Junior Taylor Ault, who claimed that many of her friends identify as gay, said, “I am proud of people who are comfortable and confident enough to be themselves. High school can be such an oppressive environment and I support those who come out in high school.”
Other students, including senior Kevin Fargo and junior Megan English, voiced their support. “I totally support LGBT,” Fargo said.
English said that while she supports those who are open about their sexuality, “I don’t blame the people that keep it to themselves because I know they get judged by others.”
While part of the FRHS student body fully supports those with any sexual orientation, other students still struggle with LGBT issues. A senior who wishes to stay anonymous said,“Those who are a part of the LGBT community have the right to do or believe in what makes them happy. It doesn’t make them any less of a person.” The student then added, “It is hard for me to understand how someone could like another person of the same gender as I believe opposites attract.”
Two other anonymous students admitted that while they weren’t exactly in support of the LGBT community, they admitted that it wasn’t their place to decide who someone should be with. “I don’t agree with it but that’s people’s own choice and I’m not one to judge,” one student said. “It doesn’t bother me; I don’t despise it. But I wouldn’t say I support it,” the second anonymous student said, adding, “I think [the LGBT community] is overrated. It causes too much drama.”
Fargo hopes LGBT students at FRHS continue to share their views openly and without criticism. “You should be able to love whomever you want,” he said. “Love has no gender.”
