Students should be safe regardless of orientation

This week is National Coming Out Week, an event to help lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people feel safe in their own sexuality.

Unfortunately, many high school students do not feel safe even in their schools. Although the University has many resources to help students here with issues of sexual identification, I doubt many of the high schools that students come from have similar resources.

Recently, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network released the 2007 National School Climate Survey, which chronicles the experiences of LGBT students in grades 6-12.

Some startling statistics include the fact that “22.1 percent reported being physically assaulted (e.g., punched, kicked, injured with a weapon) because of their sexual orientation,” and a third of students who reported being harassed or assaulted to school administrators received no response.

I encourage students to write to their school administrators, talk to their younger siblings and parents, and contact lawmakers to alert them of the harmful effects of not having comprehensive safe school policies and not responding to harassment.

Do we not have as much of an obligation to ensure a student's safety in school based on sexual orientation as their race?

Daniel Toxey is a freshman majoring in civil engineering.