The first-ever high school designated solely for gay and lesbian

students is set to open this fall in New York City.

The Harvey Milk High School is an expansion of a 1984 city

program consisting of two small classrooms for 50 gay students. The

school will now hold eight classrooms on a 17,000-square-foot lot,

supported by a $3.2 million grant from New York’s Board of

Education.

According to the Sexual Information and Education Council of the

United States, 41.7 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and

transgender youth do not feel safe in their school.

The Council also reports that 28 percent of gay teens drop out

of high school annually, which is more than three times the

national average.

Due to a $3.2 million renovation program approved by Mayor

Michael Bloomberg and the New York Board of Education, the

once-small alternative-school program will now be a full-fledged

accredited high school for lesbian and gay youth.

Mayor Bloomberg addressed the issue in late July.

“I think everybody feels that it’s a good idea because some of

the kids who are gays and lesbians have been constantly harassed

and beaten in other schools,” Bloomberg said. “It lets them get an

education without having to worry.”

The Hetrick-Martin Institute, a gay-rights advocacy group,

managed and financed the program since its inception in 1984 and

campaigned for the designation of the new school.

Named after San Francisco’s first openly gay city supervisor,

Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978, the school currently has

100 students enrolled for the fall of 2003, with attendance

expected to reach 170 by fall 2004.

According to the Hetrick-Martin Institute’s official website

(www.hmi.org), The Harvey Milk School is “founded in a

highly individualized approach: small classes, great

student-to-teacher ratio and the constant support of counseling and

case-management staff in the Supportive Services Departments.”

The school also offers after-school programs including tutoring,

academic programming and employment training and internship

programs.

Not everyone is impressed with the school, however. New York

State Conservative Party chairman Mike Long criticized the creation

of the school. As quoted in the New York Post, Long asked, “Is

there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there a gay math?

This is wrong.”

University of Wisconsin women’s studies professor Mariamne

Whatley said she realizes the problems the school could present,

but she also sees the benefits.

“It would be nice if we could solve the problem within the

regular high schools, but as a tempering measure, I think it’s a

good idea,” Whatley said. “Homophobia is a real issue involving

real violence, and until it can be fixed, this may be what has to

be done.”

Whatley is the department chair of UW’s women’s studies program,

which offers a course on lesbian culture as well as several other

courses that touch on lesbian issues.

“It sort of seems like we are letting people off the hook by

creating a separate school for gay students,” Whatley said. “It’s

like, ‘Oh, you won’t change your views and treat them right? Well,

we’ll just remove them from the school then,’ which is not right

either.”

But with issues such as dropping out of school, suicide,

depression and physical violence a large part of the debate

affecting lesbian and gay high school students, Whatley said

something had to be done.

The National Mental Health Association’s website

(www.nmha.org) reports that 69 percent of lesbian, gay,

bisexual or transgender youth reported experiencing some form of

harassment or violence at their school and that such youths are

three times more likely to attempt suicide than other youths.