Community stands together in national queer youth walkout
August 5, 2023
NESPA Winner: Localizing, 2023
The Cypress, Brookline High School, Brookline, MA
As if anticipating the National Queer Youth Walkout, the sun shone a bit brighter as hundreds of students and staff gathered in front of the STEM wing at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 11. The walkout protested anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic legislation, specifically Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and the directive to consider gender-affirming healthcare as child abuse in Texas.
This walkout is part of a nationwide effort, as students around the country walked out at the same time as part of the Queer Youth Assemble’s initiative.
The two speakers at the walkout, senior Oliver Slayton and sophomore Caelum Dulla, spoke about the legislature itself and their own experiences dealing with transphobia.
Slayton said the transphobic legislation adds to a myriad of hardships queer people face.
“Lawmakers are choosing to make it even harder to be you in a world that is already filled with challenges and opposition,” Slayton said.
