As the mother of Matthew Shepherd, the 21-year-old who was murdered in 1998 in an anti-gay hate crime, Judy Shepherd could speak volumes about bias based on sexual orientation. But that’s likely to be just one small part of her message on Wednesday, April 5, at 7 p.m. when she appears at High School North.##M:[more]##
Shepherd, who will appear earlier in the day in a student-only program at High School South, will discuss issues of bias and social injustice, as well as the need to appreciate diversity, according to Alexandra Lawrence, South guidance counselor and adviser to High School South’s Gay and Straight Student Alliance. “It’s not just gay students but any students who are outside the norm,” says Lawrence, who can feel stigmatized by their peers.
At South, where the Gay and Straight Student Alliance has been active for nearly a decade, attitudes toward diversity “have come a long way,” says Lawrence. “But we still have a long way to go to make schools safer for not just gay students but also for other students outside the norm.”
The Gay and Straight Alliance, which Lawrence says includes straight students who are concerned about diversity issues as well as gay students, had also been a recognized club at High School North, but lost its faculty advisor as a result of budget cuts. Students at North still meet informally, says Lawrence, “but in my opinion they still need to have a paid adviser — an adult to help them network and do things outside the school.”
Lawrence, who has one child, is a 1971 graduate of Florida State University and received her graduate degree in 1977 from the University of Houston. She has worked at the high school for 17 years and also has had a private counseling practice.
The GSSA was formed in the late 1990s, when some students, concerned with issues involving gay and lesbian students, sought a forum in which to discuss their concerns. “It all seemed to come about naturally,” says Lawrence. “Some students just came up to me and we talked about forming the club. I just put it together.”
“During the first couple of years, there was some resistance and rumblings from some of the staff here, but we stood firm. And our principal [Michael Carr at the time] was very supportive. Things are improving, but we still have a long way to go. This is a conservative district.”
While the issue of sexual orientation never even came up for discussion during Lawrence’s high school days in the 1960s, the subject is still a sensitive one for students today. Students who “come out” with their sexual orientation, says Lawrence, tend to be “very self confident” and to have parents who are accepting of their orientation. “That’s sometimes very hard,” says Lawrence, who notes that the membership list of the Gay and Straight Alliance is not disclosed to outsiders.
The majority of gay and lesbian students today, says Lawrence “are not out. They still keep it in, and they have some sort of act” to hide their orientation. All of which, she believes, makes the Judy Shepherd appearance more relevant than ever.
An Evening with Judy Shephard, High School North auditorium. Wednesday, April 5, 7 p.m. Free, but pre-registration required. Call 609-448-8243 or E-mail cnj@njglsen.org. Tickets will be available at the high school at 6:15 p.m. on April 5.
