GSA’s pride flag vandalized
On April 6, 2022, a pride flag was stolen from Andrew Phillips’ first period physics class and vandalized.
![According to a national study conducted by the GLSEN, 59 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their queer identity and 69 percent have been verbally harassed for their sexual identity.](https://granitebaytoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Flag.jpg)
According to a national study conducted by the GLSEN, 59 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their queer identity and 69 percent have been verbally harassed for their sexual identity.
“I think that a kind of culture at Granite Bay has been here for years. It’s just persisted for so long that it’s awful.” senior Izzy Siebum said. “I hate it so much…”
A pride flag was stolen from Andrew Phillips’ first period physics class on April 6, just a few days before Granite Bay High School went on spring break.
The flag, which was used during GSA (gender sexuality alliance) meetings, club rush and other events, was vandalized, peed on, allegedly burned and ultimately left in a boy’s urinal for the custodial staff to find that evening.
It was a hate crime.
“I think students here at Granite Bay are used to bigotry, homophobia (and) transphobia,” GSA advisor, Susanna Peeples said. “And I’m not gonna say that it was easy for any of them, but I don’t know that it was anything they hadn’t experienced or didn’t expect. It is a really unfortunate thing that this is not necessarily a safe place for all students.”
On the third day back from spring break, administrators, Gregory Sloan and John Pichon, visited the GSA to confirm the already spreading rumors that their flag had been vandalized.
Co-president of the GSA and junior, Lee Randolph, remembers the feeling of when the news originally broke.
“When I first heard about this situation, I was mad,” Randolph said. “That flag is a symbol of everything that we’ve gone through … That flag means so much to me that I was so mad when I heard the way it was disrespected.”
According to GSA members, the guilty party was allegedly suspended for two days. Several sources in the GSA also mentioned that when the guilty party returned to school, they were greeted by a cheering class. This allegation has not been confirmed.
Siebum, who is the GSA vice president, believes that the administration is not doing enough to foster a positive culture on campus.
“It’s happened before and the GSA usually is a main target … and I believe the school can do better,” Siebum said. “(We want) more vocal support …. and that people who do hateful acts towards marginalized groups and in this specific case, like LGBT groups, should have more severe punishment and not two days.”
Casey Tinnin is the pastor of Loomis Basin Congressional Church. He often emphasizes the church’s need to embrace marginalized groups and has worked with GBHS’s GSA in the past.
In response to the vandalization of the flag, Tinnin encourages education, empathy and most of all, listening.
“Listen to your children. Your children are listening to you,” Tinnin said. “Whether you are an administrator or you are a teacher or you are a pastor: All of these teenagers are watching how we respond to these things and it says something. It impacts their barriers.”
According to a national study conducted by the GLSEN, 59 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their queer identity and 69 percent have been verbally harassed for their sexual identity.
Many GSA members say that this national culture of hate towards LGBTQ+ students has manifested at GBHS. This culture, if not addressed, is likely to resurface.
“People have gotten beat up or jumped. People have gotten threatened for all of that. People have been threatened in the bathrooms. People have had to apologize for things that they shouldn’t need to apologize for,” Randolph said. “This is just repetition and we’re not breaking the cycle. No one is doing anything to break the cycle.”
According to a survey conducted by the CDC, “47 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual teens said they had ‘seriously considered committing suicide.’”
The GSA has been the subject of multiple attacks on campus. At this year’s club rush, a picture was taken of the GSA sign up sheet in an attempt to out many of the members.
Still, there is hope for change.
“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it and say this is the best place in the world for marginalized communities, but I will say that I’m always a person that has hope that we can become more empathetic people and understand how to listen to one another how to become a better community for all for all kids,” Peeples said. “ It’s important for kids to understand that there’s a lot of teachers who really do support them.”
On May 6, a month after the original incident, Admin Designee Gregory Sloan issued an official statement.
“GBHS and the Roseville Joint Union High School District (RJUHSD) do not condone any hate action or symbols and take these matters very seriously,” Sloan said. “Following a thorough investigation, appropriate steps were taken to resolve the incident with those involved … If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me personally.”
GSA members are shopping for another flag.
![Photo of Justin Ha](https://granitebaytoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Justin-Ha-475x267.jpg)
Justin is a senior and co-editor-in-chief. This is his fourth year on the Gazette staff.
Ezra Pahland • Jun 11, 2022 at 3:03 am
Dear writer,
If you or Mrs.Francesconi (or maybe a new journalism teacher) still have agency over this article, please never let it get taken down. If there’s a need to “clear space” or “tidy the website” don’t let this article get thrown away.
There’s a new and vulnerable wave of Queer granite bay high school students and they need this article. Do not twist my words when I say that Queer students at granite bay need to see this article, because this article does hurt my heart, as a fellow queer myself, to read. Queer students of granite bay need this article to see the school for what it is and they need to build the prepare themselves for what could happen to them.
Importantly, through enduring hate a community is built out of necessity to recuperate, enjoy the presence of those with similar experiences, and eventually combat the oppression. This is seen with marginalized groups such as racial, religious, ethnic, and in particular LGBTQIA+ identities. There is a strange air of individualism among Queer students when I was at granite bay, there were chunks of us from miniscule to medium (fat chance of it exceeding 12 people at most) in our own little groups. When something bad, like the pride flag defamation, happened, we were all scattered and unorganized, and it was only the small GSA that was able to even get a word out. Without community and support, we are helpless.
To any freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior Queer reading this, build that community right now. Start a friendship with that one Queer who you never thought of talking to, or who you’ve always wanted to talk to, don’t be shy. You should even get to know the quiet Queer in the corner of the room, they might have some good ideas if you listen carefully. Unfortunately us, in the LGBTQIA+ community, are not afforded safety; there are people who have a disease-like hatred for people like us. It shows in politics and the bills being passed we are not safe no matter how many rainbow flags are waved by well-meaning allies. It is the hard cold truth, we are not safe alone. We are not like cis-gendered heterosexual people, and it is especially difficult for those who have an intersectional identity such as being Queer and Black, or Queer and Muslim, or maybe all three identities. (on a side note, the attitude towards non white peoples and non Christian religions is atrocious)
However, we stand a chance in numbers. Because we have people who love and support us, chosen or not, we can keep going about our lives. You new wave of Queer students, go to GSA more, go to meet ups more, go to special events, be in each other’s presence as much as possible. A community is not going to be a perfect haven, there will be many flaws and blemishes, but it is a needed solution to the Queer culture of granite bay high school. Embrace one another as siblings and friends.
So Justin Ha and Mrs.Francesconi treasure this article, memorialize it. Because if you let this article get thrown away you are tearing down a community.
From former student and forever Queer,
Ezra F. Pahland