"Breaking Down
Walls"
by Mairwen
There is no question that high school can be a very hostile environment when it comes to students who do not fit the "norm." Post Falls High School is no exception. Within these walls there can be heard much criticism towards a variety of students by one another. One of the most controversial issues is that of homosexual students and their treatment at PFHS.
Tim Treend is a sixteen-year-old student at Post Falls High. He is also widely known as one of the few gay students at the school. Before he came here, he attended the Academy Northwest in Hayden. The last two years before his arrival he went to a private institution in Spokane called Valley Christian. Tim's arrival at PFHS has brought him some difficulties.
On a Wednesday, very soon after school started this year, Tim and his friend, who is bisexual, were standing outside Mr. Davis' classroom talking. They soon overheard another student, who participated in the school's (unofficial) Straight Club, making some jokes about the two. Tim's friend, being offended, yelled "Gay people are cool!" The reaction was an angry shout: "No, they're not! They should all go to Hell!" This continued as some hurtful remarks were said in regards to Tim's and his friend's sexual orientations.
Soon, word of this exchange reached the administration of PFHS. When Tim heard that someone was going to be suspended, he went to the office and begged them not to take such action; suspension seemed too harsh of a punishment for a few rude comments. Still, the school told Tim that he had no say, and the offender was suspended for two days. The student's fellow Straight Club members became furious and wore t-shirts protesting his suspension, among other displays. This mirrored the deep divide between straight and non-straight students at Post Falls High.
Though Tim is often referred to as gay in the hallways of the school, he is actually defined as transgender. Tim says that his "original goal is not to be a gay man, but rather to be a woman." The definition of the term "transgender" is actually an "umbrella definition," as it covers a wide range of titles: transexuals, crossdressers, etc. However, it generally refers to someone who is physically of one gender, but feels more comfortable as the opposite gender. Often times these people undergo sex changes (1).
Tim says that he admires the respect given to and the influence of a strong woman. He has spent much time teaching young girls that they are special and important beings that can go far if they have strength. Tim wishes to be that which he has always felt he truly is- a strong woman.
Tim's treatment at school does not anger him. He knows that some people do not understand and even do not wish to understand him. That is fine with him. He does, however, have a problem with the way the administration handles certain situations like the one on that Wednesday. Tim says that the school actually is a little too overprotective of its gay students. He says that there have been times when he felt like he needed to handle a situation on his own, but the school took it into its own hands anyway. Tim does appreciate and recognize the help given him when he does ask for it, but he wishes the school would not analyze every comment directed towards him.
The root of such, perhaps, excessive action may lie in an event occurring during the end of the last school year. Ryan Myers was another gay student at Post Falls High, and he too was tormented by fellow classmates. The difference was that Ryan was harassed so often and so harshly that very close to the end of the year, he felt pressured to drop out- and he did. He also claimed that the administration did nothing to help him; they told him that if he wanted to be treated better he needed to dress and act differently. This event affected the whole community, and the school was understandably upset when they heard that Ryan had dropped out and was planning to press charges for the administration's negligence. Though Ryan's case never made it far, the school was still being questioned as to their actions, or lack thereof, in helping him.
It seems that the school may be afraid of making the same mistake twice. They now are using every resource to protect their gay students, like Tim, in order to avoid another incident. Tim thinks that they should pull back a bit, though. Help is good, but too much can be counterproductive. Students may begin to resent those few homosexual students even more for all the extra protection they get. Tim says that the school needs to make sure that there is equal protection for everyone. Anyone who is being harassed, gay or not, should be given attention by the administration.
School is, of course, not the only place Tim feels some hostility. He says that he gets "flack" from everyone. Outside of school, when he sees people he may know, they tend to simply ignore him. Tim says that older people seem to be more accepting and kind, but there is still that stereotyping that no one can get around.
"Everyone gets put into a title," he says.
This is especially true in high school, as most know. However, Tim is who he is and no one can put a title on that. Yes, he does dress in what most would consider women's clothing, but that does not change the kind of human being he is, good or bad. Some people cannot even tell that Tim is a boy, but that is the way he likes it. He feels his true and honest life is as a woman. He does not expect everyone to understand this, but he will never change himself just to suit a better title.
"I just am myself."
Tim says his struggles are just part of another high school drama, but many are going through the same troubles. Tim has learned to be a strong person and to not let anger become part of the equation. Perhaps he has seen what so many others have not yet: That all people are different and that those differences are what make us all the same. We all have our own beliefs, our own feelings, and our own lives. We all have that drive to think for ourselves, to be who we truly feel we are even if it means we are different from everyone else- even when we pretend not to be. The only consistently common thing among all people is that we are different. No amount of time, space, or energy is ever going to change the only inevitable similarity among us all. Sometimes it seems that the one thing that divides us the most is the one thing that makes us all the same.