Evan Young gets his chance

June 5, 2015 1:25 PM

Evan Young is 18 years old, and the valedictorian at his high school in Colorado. Evan was barred from making his valedictory speech, and stripped of his title, when his principal learned that Evan planned to mention the fact that he was gay, in a speech centered around the idea that you must learn to respect people even if you disagree with them. Although he was never allowed to give that speech, and although his school outed him to his parents, Evan did get his chance to speak, at a fundraising event for OutBoulder.
posted by roomthreeseventeen (50 comments total)

It just seems astonishing to me that this is even legal.
posted by howfar at 1:33 PM on June 5, 2015 [15 favorites]

From the charter school's site:

In our high school, we use the Character First program. Twice per month, teachers introduce and teach a specific character trait through group discussions and related activities. Character education is also taught in each class and integrated into the curriculum. For example, in Mr. Pena's Spanish class, all students have to give a presentation on character. Students may give 4–8 presentations per year depending on the class.

...

May—Truthfulness

Earning future trust by accurately reporting past facts.

posted by rtha at 1:37 PM on June 5, 2015 [25 favorites]

Evan Young also gave his speech last night on The Nightly Show: http://www.hulu.com/watch/800924#i1,p0,d1
posted by blithers at 1:41 PM on June 5, 2015 [8 favorites]

By what calculus these decisions are made, knowing full well the action serves no purpose other than to reap you heaps of negative press?
posted by echocollate at 1:43 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

By what calculus these decisions are made, knowing full well the action serves no purpose other than to reap you heaps of negative press?

Some people in this world would gladly lay down their lives if only to spite a "faggot".
posted by Talez at 1:45 PM on June 5, 2015 [23 favorites]

By what calculus these decisions are made, knowing full well the action serves no purpose other than to reap you heaps of negative press?

Because, in a lot of cases, you're dealing with an individual who has had success wielding his power in this small bubble to intimidate the people he is in a position of power over. So in his eyes, why shouldn't he wield that power?

Of course, then things leave said bubble, and his life gets much more complicated.

See also the white school official who had black family members of a graduate arrested for cheering for their kin.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:49 PM on June 5, 2015 [42 favorites]

By what calculus these decisions are made,

A poor one.

But imagine a dimension that runs from "Solid, grade-a good administration with kind, caring administrators" to "total total smegheads." There are *googles* around 37,000 high schools in the US, which means 37,000 high school principals and their administrations. And 37,000 will get you several sigmas out in both directions.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:50 PM on June 5, 2015 [13 favorites]

JESUS CHRIST WHO OUTS SOMEONE TO THEIR PARENTS? Who DOES that? Even if your parents are totally fine with it and you know they will be, that's your choice and a very personal moment that you should be able to handle the way you want. WHAT THE FUCK?
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:51 PM on June 5, 2015 [33 favorites]

Partially, some people have really beautiful stories about sharing their sexuality with their parents and you've taken the potential of that moment away from a whole family. Jesus Christ. Shame on you.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:51 PM on June 5, 2015 [21 favorites]

It just seems astonishing to me that this is even legal.

I don't think it is under Colorado's state laws. The federal Department of Education prohibits this if the school gets any kind of federal funding.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 1:52 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

So, barring this kind from giving his speech is stupid and bigoted.

BUT... I find it odd that he was going to come out to his family in the speech. I mean, that seems unusual. Coming out seems like a pretty personal thing.

But I honestly don't know since I've never come out as gay. You tell me.

JESUS CHRIST WHO OUTS SOMEONE TO THEIR PARENTS?

Would the principal even know? I mean, would he not assume Evan already came out to his parents? Now, he's an idiot for not allowing Evan to give the speech, but this seems like the one thing he did that was based on ignorance as opposed to, uh, ignorance.
posted by GuyZero at 1:53 PM on June 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

It just seems astonishing to me that this is even legal.

I genuinely wonder if part of this is that it's a charter school; they exist largely to funnel money away from the government to private industry and undermine the power of teacher's unions and there is, in general, insufficient oversight of them and they are not held to the same standards as most public schools. They operate basically autonomously and some of them are great but many of them are not and they are not really used to being held accountable.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:54 PM on June 5, 2015 [37 favorites]

Mrs. Pterodactyl, I have probably told this story here before, but my tenth grade history teacher did just that, to my best friend. We went to her room one day after school because my friend was in a real state of distress about being bullied as a lesbian. Before she could even take the bus home, the teacher and called home and told her mother that her child was gay.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:54 PM on June 5, 2015 [6 favorites]

Or was he planning to come out at home before giving the speech? Maybe I missed something in the articles.
posted by GuyZero at 1:54 PM on June 5, 2015

I don't think it is under Colorado's state laws. The federal Department of Education prohibits this if the school gets any kind of federal funding.

Also fair; perhaps I should have said something more like "maybe as a charter school they thought they could get away with it because they are not accustomed to accountability."

I'm going to stop commenting now because every aspect of this makes me so angry. Jesus. Jesus fuck.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:55 PM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

> Coming out seems like a pretty personal thing.

Sure, which means there are as many ways to do it as there are people coming out. If the principal had been a thoughtful person, he maybe could've talked to the kid first to see what the deal was. But the principal seems to be a Do Not Defy Me person on a power trip, which usually precludes thoughtfulness.
posted by rtha at 1:58 PM on June 5, 2015 [7 favorites]

Here's the transcript of the speech. It's pretty long, and he talks about how he was pretty much a slacker who didn't do homework, or did it minutes before the next class. That's the stuff I, were I a principal, have asked the student to pull out. But his part about being gay is not sexual, and actually honors his school:

On a more serious note, there is something I would like to reveal to you. You may have already suspected this, but I hope this does not change your opinion of me: I am gay. I’ve been attracted to men for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never had a girlfriend because I prefer members of my own sex. But I thought that, if ever in my life I am to refer to someone as my girlfriend, it may as well be the best friend I ever had.

Sincerely,
Evan Young

And I’m not quite done yet. I’m sorry. We’re getting there, though. And that’s my biggest secret of all: I’m gay. I understand this might be offensive to some people, but it’s who I am. And whether you’ve always suspected this, or this is a total shock to you, now you know. When I was writing this speech, I was endlessly debating with myself whether I should reveal this, on account of how divisive an issue this is and how gay people tend to be stereotyped, and I thought that, if I did, I should repeatedly apologize and beg you guys not to think any differently of me. But then I realized: I don’t have to. I shouldn’t have to. If there’s one thing I learned at this school, it’s that we can still be friends even if we profoundly disagree with each other. And sure: There’s only like 30 of us, so it’s not like we had much of a choice, but at times, it took a serious effort to put up with one another. We disagreed and argued about many things: about gun control, the minimum wage, politics, books, movies, who would speak at our graduation, pretty much everything else. But no matter how much we disagreed, we learned to overlook our differences and respect everyone else, no matter how wrong we thought they were, no matter how annoying they were, no matter how boring their speeches were, or no matter what weird snacks they brought to history class, from coffee creamer to coconuts. And I want everyone here to do the same.

The principal outed him to his dad, and then they didn't acknowledge him as the valedictorian in the graduation ceremony.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:59 PM on June 5, 2015 [8 favorites]

Interesting that the HuffPo didn't reach out to his Representative, Jared Polis. He's a member of the LGBT caucus in the House of Representatives and serves the city of Longmont.
posted by boo_radley at 2:00 PM on June 5, 2015

ho DOES that? Even if your parents are totally fine with it and you know they will be, that's your choice and a very personal moment that you should be able to handle the way you want. WHAT THE FUCK?

I am relieved to see that in this particular case, it does seem that Young's parents were accepting. Not that it makes the principal's actions one iota less loathsome, for exactly the reasons you lay out, but it is still good.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 2:05 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

The principal outed him to his dad, and then they didn't acknowledge him as the valedictorian in the graduation ceremony.

Good interview and for once a transcript. It pretty much validates any unfavourable assumption you want to make about the principal.
posted by GuyZero at 2:06 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Valedictorian Can't Come Out In Graduation Speech, High School Says

High School Says Prefers Nationwide Media Coverage, Looking Like a Total Dick on TV
posted by chavenet at 2:14 PM on June 5, 2015 [46 favorites]

I think the Streisand Effect should be taught in schools, because it seems people don't understand how it works.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:21 PM on June 5, 2015 [10 favorites]

boo_radley: "Interesting that the HuffPo didn't reach out to his Representative, Jared Polis."

That would involve spending more than four minutes on a story based mainly around existing material, with one quote from someone who was either near their email in this interval, or was the one who tipped the reporter to the story.
posted by rhizome at 2:23 PM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

By what calculus these decisions are made, knowing full well the action serves no purpose other than to reap you heaps of negative press?

I'd be thrilled to do something that got me praise on gay media sites and pissed off Fox News. This guy probably feels the same way about publicity that I do, just with the constituencies swapped: "The people who matter will love it, and the ones who hate it are disgusting anyway."

(I mean, I also happen to think I'm right and he's wrong. This isn't some false equivalency bullshit I'm selling here. Just… let's remember that this guy is probably getting a ton of positive feedback too, from people whose opinion he cares about much more than he cares about yours and mine. The battle is far from won.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:24 PM on June 5, 2015 [7 favorites]

By what calculus these decisions are made...
The charter school starts a GoFundMe, gets enough $$$ to double the principal's salary. Cha-ching.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:26 PM on June 5, 2015

ROU_Xenophobe: Several sigmas of smegheads?
posted by Four Ds at 2:29 PM on June 5, 2015

The school uses the Character First program which was started by Bill Gothard, a deeply conservative evangelical Christian who is virulently anti-gay (and has been accused of years of sexual harassment and abuse of young women). The Character First program is also used by the Duggars of 19 Kids and Counting fame.
posted by mcduff at 2:31 PM on June 5, 2015 [38 favorites]

*reads mcduff's comment, smacks forehead so hard co-workers look up*
posted by Melismata at 2:32 PM on June 5, 2015 [14 favorites]

Come on guys, let's give them the benefit of the doubt. They wouldn't let him give the speech because he said that his eight grade art class wasn't a real class. That's offensive to eighth grade art teachers.

For real though, use the contact form and tell them off. Let them know that they made a mistake.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:36 PM on June 5, 2015

We actually live in the area served by this school, and we briefly considered sending Little Ratlette there, but something about the place left a bad taste in our mouths. When all this kerfuffle came out, I was surprised; I figured we're in Boulder County, surely "gay kid comes out at graduation" is pretty played out by now; but chasing those "Character First" links, it becomes clear that the place is a stealth-Fundie operation.
posted by Rat Spatula at 2:42 PM on June 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

filthy light thief's link has a little speech (and a cert of special congressional recognition) from Jared Polis.
posted by halifix at 2:42 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the publicity won't shame the principal. Fundies and Teahadists have no shame when it comes to their firmly held beliefs. Nothing we can say or do will make this man feel remorse. What we can do is start actively lobbying to have state funded theological training centers which operate under a thin veneer of education, shut down and have the money returned to the state schools where it belongs.

You want ideological purity, you can do it without my tax dollars, thanks.
posted by dejah420 at 2:43 PM on June 5, 2015 [17 favorites]

> The school uses the Character First program which was started by Bill Gothard,

Can someone pass me the brain bleach please? Soon? Thank you!
posted by rtha at 2:45 PM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

halifix - Democracy Now! interviewed him and others in their coverage of the topic.

The school uses the Character First program which was started by Bill Gothard, a deeply conservative evangelical Christian who is virulently anti-gay

Which makes the bit about Christians hugging someone gay made sense:

So before you leave, I have one final request for you: Hug someone. That’s right, hug someone. Students, hug a teacher. Democrats, hug a Republican. People who own a gun, hug one of those darn liberals who wants to snatch it out of your cold, dead fingers. Trekkies, hug someone who likes Star Wars more. Mel Gibson, hug a Jewish person. Conservative Christians, hug an agnostic. Hug a gay person while you’re at it, too. (Actually, please don’t because I don’t want to hug everyone here, but you get the point).

Emphasis mine.

It also makes sense why he hasn't told his parents yet, if they opted for him to go to a Conservative Christian charter school.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:50 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well, there are other schools in the area that are explicitly Christian; but they're also private (not charter). Looking at the Strata Leadership site, you'll hunt in vain for the word "Christian"; but if you look at the people who work there, and do even cursory Googling, it becomes obvious the whole thing is just a front so they can inject their theology into the public sphere while pretending to be a secular "leadership" organization.

In conversations, I've never heard anybody refer to Twin Peaks Charter as a "Christian" school. On the other hand, I did hear a rumor that they cancelled a toga party (following a unit on ancient Rome) because some parents were afraid of their kids turning pagan.
posted by Rat Spatula at 3:05 PM on June 5, 2015 [10 favorites]

Yes, Rat Spatula, as I understand it, the school may or may not consider itself to be Christian. The Character First program is sort of a stealth way to inject "christian" education into schools.
posted by mcduff at 3:08 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Principal BJ Buchmann's decision may cost the school it's charter.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:16 PM on June 5, 2015 [19 favorites]

I'm living in the area myself. There may be an idea that huge megachurches are found (only?) in Colorado Springs, but we have plenty of them here.

This is a pretty conservative part of the country, Boulder-bubble-be-damned.
posted by alex_skazat at 3:24 PM on June 5, 2015

From Joey Michaels' link:

“Unfortunately Twin Peaks has undermined the legitimacy of their internal investigation by predetermining their findings and throwing Evan under the bus,” wrote Polis. “At this point the only way to restore credibility is for a truly independent investigation to occur. Rather than play this out in the court of public opinion, both Evan and the school deserve the benefit of the doubt and the vindication that only an objective investigation can establish.”

Lawyer time.
posted by chavenet at 3:49 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's pretty dangerous to out someone to their parents. It's obvious that there are still parents out there who'd no sooner abandon their children than let them live their lives, even if they're 18, not to mention potential physical violence. What if they punished him by not letting him go to his preferred university, or see any of his friends before they took off to college? That should be grounds for a lawsuit, putting someone in danger like that.
posted by gucci mane at 4:15 PM on June 5, 2015 [6 favorites]

By what calculus these decisions are made, knowing full well the action serves no purpose other than to reap you heaps of negative press?

Everyone saying "a poor one" or "as a power play" or whatever isn't getting the whole picture.

This school likely exists in a community where the majority of the parents who actually send their kids to this school would agree with this decision, or at least a fair sized vocal minority.

Not to mention the comments about the "character first" program, this school is likely a wink-wink-nudge-nudge fairly religious school in the same vein as apartment buildings that are just inexplicably 100% lily white in occupancy.

Just because this got a bunch of negative press and might have consequences for the school doesn't mean it wasn't what a lot of parents of kids there would have wanted.

And this is coming from someone who attended a catholic school for a few years where some fucked up shit went down.
posted by emptythought at 4:18 PM on June 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

Arrington wrote in a 2014 Uncommon Descent blog post on intelligent design, “A man’s body is designed to be complementary with a woman’s body and vice versa. All of the confusion about whether same-sex relations are licit would be swept away in an instant if everyone acknowledged this obvious truth.”

Oh no, you don't get to acknowledge peoples' genitals and screwing to justify hate. Go back to pretending none of us have sex and all of the confusion about whether same-sex relations are licit would be swept away in an instant.
posted by yerfatma at 4:30 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

boo_radley Interesting that the HuffPo didn't reach out to his Representative, Jared Polis. He's a member of the LGBT caucus in the House of Representatives and serves the city of Longmont.

Unfortunately, Longmont lost Polis to redistricting and got his diametric opposite in Ken Buck, whose record as a conservative speaks for itself. Thanks so much, Greeley.
posted by underflow at 7:07 PM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

started by Bill Gothard

That name tho
posted by jayder at 7:11 PM on June 5, 2015 [12 favorites]

He's only called that because his family has a lot to do with goats back in the day.

Um.
posted by howfar at 12:05 AM on June 6, 2015

"Character First"

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA /me keels over
posted by holborne at 7:17 AM on June 6, 2015

I wonder, sometimes, how many of these idiot school administrators realize that they are guaranteeing the kid they're bullying has just gotten all the material they need for their college entrance essays.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:13 AM on June 6, 2015

This story, and the reaction to it, really points out to me how far we've come in just a few decades. Had I heard this story back when I was coming out, I would have considered this a success for gay acceptance. After all, they didn't withhold his diploma, and his family didn't disown him. The fact that this was at some vaguely religious charter school, and not some John Hughes-esque upper middle class suburban public school makes it even more impressive.
posted by jaut at 6:13 PM on June 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Of course, the school administrators were 100% for sure punishing him for daring to mention his sexual orientation in that speech, because their lame excuses as to why they objected to other parts of the speech don't really hold water. It's not the kid's fault that he somehow managed to successfully ducked homework a lot of time and still managed to be the valedictorian. That says a whole lot more about the school itself than it does about him, but that should be a wake-up call for the administrators to pay more attention to curriculum and grading and spend less time harassing and outing students. This is one of those times when the administration could have admitted that they goofed and turned this into an object lesson, instead of doubling down on their stupidity. I hope it costs them their charter, public funding, and a whole lot of administrative jobs.
posted by LiliaNic at 11:48 PM on June 6, 2015

I had my wires crossed. The charter school that I was remembering (the one to which we considered sending Lesser Rat, and about which I heard the toga-party story) was the other big charter school in town, which is apparently based on Core Knowledge.

Honestly, I'm relieved; I couldn't believe we'd missed all this stealth theology when we looked into that school because we're both usually on a hair trigger for that stuff.

The toga-party cancellation on itself seemed par for the course; alex_skazat is right on the money, Colorado Springs is just where a bunch of big organizations have a mailing address, the culture it represents is spread pretty evenly across the state from what I've seen.
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:26 AM on June 8, 2015