# New York's First Gay High School. Necessary? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510 "2003-07-28T20:24:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/1 "2003-07-28T20:24:13Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/07/28/gay.school.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/07/28/gay.school.ap/index.html) I personally think that this is the greatest thing since Idunnowhat. I don’t understand the conservative guy’s comments. Did he not receive a copy of the proposal? Did he really think his comments were going to come off as non-biased? What do you think? Is it necessary for gay students to have their own public school? Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Sarang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jack\_Sarang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Sarang)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/2 "2003-07-28T20:35:05Z")
Should all Minorities have their own highschools because White Kids can be racist? Should smart kids have special highschools because they are constantly bullied by “jocks”? Yeah, high-school can be tough on anyone who is “different” but segregation is not the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/3 "2003-07-28T20:46:40Z")
I agree with Jack. Seems like if they can justify public gay-only high schools, they can justify black high schools, hispanic high schools, etc. etc. Separation is not the answer IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/4 "2003-07-28T20:50:29Z")
It’s not the answer we’d all like to see, but how do you protect these kids? They’re not even allowed to practice basic dating for fear of being beaten up. The social stigma is bigger against gay kids than it is for the brainiacs or blacks. From my viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/5 "2003-07-28T21:04:12Z")
I don’t really like this. Segregation is bad, even if it’s done with good intentions, and even if it’s voluntary. School isn’t just about teachers imparting knowledge unto students, it’s about students learning from one another. These gay teenagers could have a lot to contribute to a standard high school that heterosexual students may now miss out on. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/6 "2003-07-28T21:06:57Z")
This debate is going on in GD also, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/7 "2003-07-28T21:14:37Z")
Thanks, Autz. Maybe I’ll zip over there tomorrow. Time to go home for now. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/8 "2003-07-28T21:17:36Z")
**Jack Sarang** , as a matter of fact, smart kids do have their own high schools in New York City. Three of them in fact: Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School (four if you count Hunter College High School, which is humanities-focused). You have to take an exam to enter the first three (to enter Hunter you take a different exam in the 6th grade). It also has a high school for art-type geeks: Laguardia High School for the Fine Arts and Performing Arts. You enter by audition. ---
**Author:** ![rum\_coke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@rum\_coke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rum_coke)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/9 "2003-07-28T21:44:58Z")
What’s next, gay-only water fountains? Please. This high school is going to do nothing but further the idea that gay people are “different” and should therefore be treated differently. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/10 "2003-07-28T22:02:06Z")
Jesus. This is by far the stupidest idea I’ve EVER heard… For about the same cost to taxpayers, couldn’t you just hire a few extra police officers to protect the kids in “normal” public schools? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/11 "2003-07-28T22:35:28Z")
Right, why not put a big sign up in front of the school: “Gaybashers Wait Here for Victims”. This school is only going to make things easier from 8 to 3…after that, all bets are off. Really stupid idea. ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/12 "2003-07-28T23:49:05Z")
I dunno about this. A kid will be going into this school at age, what, 15? And at 15, this kid has already clearly defined his or her sexual orientation? What if a student finds that he/she was mistaken and decides that s/he is straight? Do they kick this kid out then? I dunno if this would be a good thing anywhere else, but in New York, I see it as unneccessary. I’ve gone to plenty of high schools. All of them have had their percentage of out and proud teens. I never really saw the other kids having problems with this, and in fact most were supportive. Granted, I do not live in the skin of these students and I don’t know what happens in their lives, but most seemed to be popular, well-adjusted kids. hijack - Yay, Hunter! Best school of all! P.S. Forgive any gross errors in grammar and spelling, I’m having a 48-hour day. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/13 "2003-07-29T01:40:22Z")
Sad. Seperatist. Stupid. I don’t understand how even the slowest to catch on could ever consider this to be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/14 "2003-07-29T01:58:17Z")
I bet [Jamie Nabozny](http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Alerts/States/Minnesota/jamie.html) wishes a school like this had existed for him. > [@](#): > > For about the same cost to taxpayers, couldn’t you just hire a few extra police officers to protect the kids in “normal” public schools? [Derek Henkle](http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=561) relied on school police and officials to protect him; instead they stood by and watched as he was repeatedly attacked by students, then said it was his own fault for acting so gay. No one as I understand it is _required_ to go to this school, so all of the comparisons to Jim Crow and separate water fountains simply do not pertain. The school exists and will continue to exist for those who need it, as part of the school system’s obligation to provide safe learning environments for all of its students. If the only way to do that is to expand an existing facility then good on it. I would rather that a young person who is or thinks he is gay has a place where he can learn in peace and safety than drop out or be taunted, beaten or killed in a “mainstream” school. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/15 "2003-07-29T03:04:49Z")
No one in this thread has yet addressed the problematic nature of homophobia as opposed to racism. As a web community of people who fight ignorance, I think we can all agree that “No one is entitled to an **uninformed** opinion.” Therefore, discrimination based on race is universally deplorable, because it’s based on a false premise (“blacks/hispanics/whites are inferior to whites/hispanics/blacks”). However, there are arguably well-informed people who are homophobic. Interracial dating is no longer the controversy that it once was, since most of society sees race as a non-issue. Same-sex dating, especially during the teenage years, is still seen as controversial. I think it’s wonderful that gay teens have a place to go where they can experience romance in a safe environment. Right now, gay teens need somewhere to go, and just be themselves, without having to hide or lie about themselves or live in fear. Comparing homophobia to racism is ridiculous. Racism is almost universally deplored in North America. Homophobia is tolerated and will probably continue to be tolerated for as long as Leviticus is being misinterpreted. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/16 "2003-07-29T04:47:06Z")
Yeah, but \*_lola_ informed, well meaning and very intelligent people used to support Jim Crowe laws and racial seperation as well. Personally, I was initially torn on whether this was a good idea or not. I initially thought about whet it would have been to have a school like this around when I was being harrased in HS for being a theater fag and a drama fag and a fag fag. In the end, I think it’s not a god idea. Putting gifted kids in a school like Stuyvesant or Bronx Tech is one thing - you’re talking about the learning environment as it pertains to actual schoolwork and the intelligence level of the students. In a gifted sutdent’s school, you can accelerate the pupils without having to worry about leaving a great number of people behind. A “gay only” school is, to me, just a reaction to the seeming fact that the public schools can’t deal with hate and intolerance in the regular schools. I just keep thinking of all the gay kids that WON’T be attending - now the bullies have one more thing to nail them with - “Hey, faggot, you belong at Milk!!” Bad idea. Bad. ---
**Author:** ![Thaidog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/50afbb/32.png) [@Thaidog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaidog)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/17 "2003-07-29T06:39:13Z")
In high school I played a ton of tennis… one of the richer kids I played with, Jeffery Taylor, moved from Raleigh down to Florida where he changed High Schools… but this was not just a change in High Schools… he got to enroll in a Tennis Academy High School… It breaks down like this, they go to school for about 4 hours, then play tennis for the reset of the day. He attended this school at the same time Jennifer Capriati was there. As you can see this was big time tennis instruction. My point? These people went to a tennis high school, but when the graduate, the get paid to play tennis professionally. You don’t get paid to be gay. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/18 "2003-07-29T07:43:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVGuy \* > \*\* > A “gay only” school is, to me, just a reaction to the seeming fact that the public schools can’t deal with hate and intolerance in the regular schools. I just keep thinking of all the gay kids that WON’T be attending - now the bullies have one more thing to nail them with - “Hey, faggot, you belong at Milk!!” > > Bad idea. Bad. \*\* What is more disheartening than having straight people in the GD thread as well as this one coming up with reasons on why it’s either wasting their money or a bad idea is to see gay people joining them. ---
**Author:** ![Radon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Radon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Radon)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/19 "2003-07-29T10:18:32Z")
An all-gay high school named Milk High ? How are they supposed to prove they’re really homosexual? And what’s the penalty if they’re not? Are they allowed to be virgin homosexuals, or is experience necessary? Are you sure this isn’t a gag article? Will they study Romeo and Juliet in English class? Will they have a football team? Is there a High School for sex addicts? Masturbators? Abstainers? Flashers? Animal lovers? Why not? Is this like a school for the handicapped — and gays are handicapped? How do you keep the Prom out of the news? ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510/20 "2003-07-29T10:41:27Z")
What about all the other kids in public school - what does this mean for them? They will never be exposed to gay people during high school? Sure, some kids are mean, and I know high school is hell for some people, but things certainly are not going to get better if the other kids just get to think that gay people don’t exist for their whole high school life. My best friend in high school was gay, I am not. I was very close to her and saw what she went through with gay bashers on a few occasions. But, by and large, she got by just fine - she certainly dated more than I did and brought her girlfriend to grad. I was at an impressionable age, and I know she deeply affected how I have felt about gay people ever since. I am not sure what would have happened if she was not there. In short, I think its a bad idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorks-first-gay-high-school-necessary/191510.md?page=2)