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First Publicly Funded Gay School Opens in U.S. |
Sept. 8, 2003 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The first publicly funded school in the
United States for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teen-agers
opened in New York on Monday as a handful of protesters rallied
across the street.
There were also demonstrations of support for the Harvey Milk
High School. In front of the building, people cheered and held
up banners such as "God made us Queer" on the first
day of classes for the school named after a gay San Francisco
politician assassinated in 1978.
The school, which for 20 years was funded privately and had
just two classes, is now bankrolled jointly by the city education
department and a gay rights youth advocacy group, the Hetrick-Martin
Institute, a first for the United States.
When city officials announced in July that the school would
open in the new academic year in September along with others
for New York's 1.1 million city-educated children, critics in
the United States and overseas said creating a special school
would not solve the larger problem of homophobia.
"I am offended because this school is only for a particular
sexual orientation," protester Reuben Israel said on Monday.
"I say it is discriminating ... these people say 'accept
us for who we are' but don't accept anybody else."
Some held up banners like "Sodomy It's to Die For"
and another that said, "Death Penalty for Fags."
School principal William Salzman said the school was not segregationist.
He said it provided a safe learning environment for children
who had been physically or emotionally abused in other schools
because of their sexual orientation.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the teachers' union support the
school.
"We are very proud to have them here in a safe, nurturing
environment," Salzman, a former Wall Street executive who
has recently worked as an assistant high school principal, told
reporters. "Some may say it is segregationist, it's not.
All the students are here voluntarily.
"There are schools where some things may be taking place,
but we can't change the whole world, but what we can do is work
with one child at a time."
He said over 70 students are enrolled so far in the revamped
school, which will specialize in computer technology, media,
art and culinary programs in addition to the city school curriculum.
The city spent $3.2 million to renovate the building in Manhattan's
Greenwich Village neighborhood. |
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