Ellie Turner

Staff Writer

On August 16, 2023 the Parents Bill of Rights was passed. This bill requires teachers and administrators of North Carolina public schools to notify the parents if a child wants to change their pronouns or name. This bill has contributed to the creation of normalized homophobia and has made schools feel unsafe for queer youth.

I’ve spoken to many queer students at R.J. Reynolds High School about this bill. Most of them were aware of this bills’ passing before I mentioned it, and all were enraged.

“It hasn’t affected me personally because thankfully my parents know I’m trans and they’re okay with it,” Oliver Alward (he/him) said.

There are plenty of queer youth who are not personally targeted by this bill, myself included,but those who it does affect are being put in danger and forced into uncomfortable school situations without any support system. Many trans youth have a hard time coming out to their parents because it doesn’t feel safe or like their parents will accept them with open arms. Now, these same students come to school where it is normalized to call children by the wrong name, or not accept parts of their chosen identity.

These circumstances put a strain on queer youth’s mental health. For Gen Z, it’s hard to grow up in a world full of black and white ideation of right and wrong, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. This generation is embracing a more fluid experience and bills like this make it hard for students to feel comfortable exploring who they truly are.

This bill is creating unsafe environments for queer youth everywhere in NC. Closeted queer children are already at risk and uncomfortable at home. They are more uncomfortable at school due to these new laws, leaving these kids with the only safe place for their friends; if they have any.

“I have trans friends at Career Center who aren’t out to their parents, so their teachers have to call them by their deadnames [name given at birth],” Alward said.

Due to our large population of queer students at RJR, many of those students feel safe, welcome, and aware of the community at school.

“I do think for the most part it does feel safe, but it felt safer last year before the bill,” Alward said.

Part of the reason students feel relatively safe at RJR is because our school helps support its queer students with things like the GSA club (Gay Straight Alliance) and easy access to gender neutral bathrooms.

Along with our guidance counselors available for a meeting any time, alot of RJR staff and administration classrooms are certified safe spaces for any student; a small rainbow sticker on their door helps students know they have someone to talk to when needed.

This decision by NC Lawmakers is creating a change in how it feels in the hall and in our classrooms at RJR. At RJR, we talk about equity, inclusivity, and diversity, but now, ‘Making Reynolds the place where everyone wants to be’ is more difficult than ever.