By: Nate Carsten
About a week ago, during spirit week at Mahomet-Seymour High School, an incident of prejudice occurred. The spirit theme of that day was the USA. To represent their personal view of America, a student chose to fly their proud flag of LGBTQ+. As a result, they were verbally and eventually physically assaulted. You can read more about what happened on the Mahomet Daily.
I am a Mahomet-Seymour alum. While I am deeply angered and saddened by this, I am not surprised. I write now to inform the student that high school is such a tiny world compared to the one you are about to embark on, one you already have a leg up on with your confidence and strength.
Parkland College is one of the many steps that can come after high school. It is perfect for anyone trying to save money and get started close to home. For some, there can be a feeling of nervousness still being so close to home if the feels are less than homely; if your peers judge and criticize you for being just that, you. I want you to know that Parkland is a place that can be a safe step after a close-minded high school experience. Not only are there many others just like you, but there are also allies, like me, who will treat you like the human you are.
One such group on the Parkland Campus is Parkland PRIDE. They meet every Friday in Room U114 to vibe, talk, and meet others with the same background. I attended and joined last Friday, and everyone in attendance has your utmost respect. The wonderful Jane Smith advised us, and we started by introducing ourselves with our preferred pronouns and then talked about our week and what it means to live it with Pride. A lot of the students are first-year and from high schools in the area. They each had different stories of high school, from being “straight-appearing” and fading into the dark, to blossoming with the help of theater and cis-female English teachers. Regardless of their history, they all agree that their struggles have created a fundamental element to this thing we call life: empathy.
Empathy, more simply put, is seeing life through other’s eyes, which is a harder concept to grasp than one would think. If one has never been put in a situation where a majority pushed their ideals and berated the minority, how could they conceptualize, logically, what it would feel like from the other side? In no way is that an excuse. Especially when one of the ways the student was assaulted was by use of Bible verses and “Holy water.” There is no Christianity in those actions, just assaults under an empty name. A couple of students in Parkland PRIDE are also Christians. To treat others not how they would want to be treated is how they live their lives and cannot understand or sympathize with other Christians doing otherwise. We are more than just our sexuality. We are human.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. As the voice of those who support you at Parkland: we are so proud of you and the confidence you bring to who you are. You are an inspiration. We want you to know that. You are not alone. Champaign-Urbana has many places where LGBTQ+ citizens can feel safe. There are drag shows at Nola bar as well as The Axe Bar. Glo right below Clark Bar is always open, and not to mention the CU Pride Fest. High school is tough, and if it wasn’t, Netflix would run out of ideas for dramas. Get through the drama and come see us– it is safe here.