Love is Love Challenged at SVHS

Because of the perceived lack of response from the administration, homophobia continues to plague our campus. Queer kids hear the f-slur thrown around in class conversations every day and while walking down the hallway. Lack of effort to address homophobia has frustrated many students and staff.

However, two student run activist groups have taken matters into their own hands. These groups are GenUp Sonoma and Diversify Our Narrative SVUSD. On February 2, both Instagram accounts for the groups posted a graphic encouraging students to anonymously send in testimonials concerning their homophobic experiences on campus. Both groups plan to post these testimonials every two days in order to keep up the momentum of fighting homophobia at SVHS. 

Senior and ally for the community, Monique Oros says, “I’m honestly not surprised that people behave like this on this campus but I’m really glad that someone is bringing light and attention to it. I think it’s great that their voices can be heard and I hope people pay attention to [the posts] on Instagram.” 

Since February 2, 4 testimonies have been posted and so far, queer students and allies alike have had very positive responses to the posts. Sophomore Deyanira Artega claims that “I honestly really like the testimonies, I wish they had a bigger platform like the SVHS Instagram because more people should be aware of [homophobia on campus] and how it affects people.” 

The GSA club even took to selling their t-shirts on Monday in order to raise funds for the club and provide an outlet for students to support the queer community but were met with negative responses. Freshman Bell Salazar shared “People came up to it to make fun of [the shirts].” As the club was met with stares from passersby, they were only able to sell a few shirts. In an effort to persevere, the club decided to try and sell their shirts again on February 17. They hope that with more publicity, they will be able to collect more funds. 

Senior Andrea Beiza shared, “At this point it’s just a matter of continuing to be ignorant or accepting people as they are.” 

Still it is distressing to continually confront homophobia during the month of love. While the activist groups and clubs continue to face backlash, the support from queer students and allies empowers them to fight for a safer environment on campus.