A Daily Struggle for Club Pioneer

Anthony Colin avoids crowds at El Modena High. He has received anonymous phone calls predicting his descent into hell. And on a recent afternoon, Anthony, 15, asked seven of his friends to walk him home from school.

“I was afraid I was going to get jumped,” explained the 10th-grader, who generally keeps to himself to limit opportunities for harassment at the hands of fellow students. “It was just a threat, but I didn’t want to take it too lightly because you don’t know what some people are capable of.”

All this because Anthony--who is openly gay and says he has long been harassed because of it--asked the Orange Unified School District last month for permission to start a school club to foster dialogue between gay and straight students. “It’s going to be a support group that promotes tolerance, acceptance, respect and love,” he said.

But the school board balked. And now the district stands bitterly divided over the issue--and under the threat of lawsuits. “This isn’t like saying yes or no to any other club,” school board President Terri Sargeant said at a public forum last week. “It’s an emotional and divisive issue.”

And it’s likely to heat up tonight at a school board meeting during which trustees are expected to vote on the matter following a closed-door meeting with its lawyers. “The next step is to discuss it with their attorney in private session,” district spokeswoman Judy Frutig said. “Then they will come out, and whatever comes out of that closed session will be reflected in the vote.”

A Place to Discuss Issues

This week, Anthony--along with his mother and another student--retained the services of lawyers from People for the American Way Foundation, a civil liberties group, to represent their interests in the matter.

“We live in a time when a club promoting tolerance should certainly be welcome,” said Kendra Huard, acting director of the group’s California office. “Students should have the opportunity to get together and talk about issues of harassment and discrimination that they face daily, or simply be with other students of like mind who are supportive and friendly.”

In fact, she said, their right to do so is guaranteed by federal legislation adopted in 1990 that prohibits public school districts from discriminating against non-curricular clubs on the basis of political, philosophical, religious or other contents of the speech at their meetings.

“If the board doesn’t approve the club,” Huard said, “we will be forced to pursue all options, including litigation.”

The American Civil Liberties Union also has said it would pursue litigation if the district doesn’t approve the club.

Board President Sargeant has declined to discuss the matter further this week. “Mrs. Sargeant feels that it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about this until the board decides what kind of action it’s going to take,” Frutig said.

Students say the campus is divided as well, with some arguing against the proposed Gay-Straight Alliance Club on the grounds that they believe it would promote homosexual lifestyles. “The school is definitely split,” said Therese Mascardo, Associated Student Body vice president. “The issue is really not dominantly supported in either way.”

Anthony said he got the idea for the club in the wake of last year’s beating death of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming.

Support From Mom

“They have a Christian club for support of Christians,” he said, “a black student union club to educate people on African Americans, and an Asian and MEChA club to do the same for Asians and Mexican Americans.”

His mother, for one, believes it’s a good idea. When Anthony told her two years ago that he was gay, Jessie Colin said, “the first thing I thought of was that I wouldn’t be a grandmother. It took some time to get over the tears.”

After study and reflection, however, came acceptance. “God doesn’t make mistakes,” she said, “and my son is not a mistake. He’s mine unconditionally, and I have every intention of backing him. Above all, this is about unity--bringing the kids together. To tell you the truth, I don’t understand why each and every high school doesn’t have a club like this.”

In the end, Anthony said, having the club will be worth the struggle. “If just one student, be he gay or straight, is educated and feels a little bit safer at school,” he said, “then it will be worth everything I’ve gone through.”