Twenty-One
They Were Born This Way
Written by Roger Graff
In an attempt to raise awareness regarding their anti-bullying campaign, a group of local teens put on a performance at the Westerville Mall last Wednesday of Lady Gaga's chart-topping song "Born This Way".
The event was organized by the heads of two different glee clubs, the McKinley High New Directions and the Dalton Academy Warblers. Both groups placed within the top ten show choirs in the nation at the 2011 National Show Choir Competition, which was held in New York two months ago. These leaders, Rachel Berry and Wesley Montgomery, explained to the crowd that they had chosen to "celebrate differences" rather than mocking or deriding them. Each member of the large group wore a plain white t-shirt with a single word or phrase on it describing something they have been bullied for, or which they have not always accepted about themselves. Some of the more interesting messages included "TROUTY MOUTH", "BAD ATTITUDE", "HOBBIT" and "CHUBBY CHASE". Berry's read "NOSE", and she explained she had contemplated having it surgically changed to a "Hollywood perfect" shape. Montgomery's read "DICTATOR", and he shared that he had a tendency to go overboard in trying to control things in his life.
Two other t-shirts of note were worn by a pair of teens who were bold enough to proclaim their sexual orientation via their outfits. Kurt Hummel wore one that read "LIKES BOYS", while Santana Lopez's bore the phrase "LESBIAN". When asked how they expected the public to react to their shirts, Lopez admitted that she was worried. "It was one thing to tell my friends, especially since most of them already knew. But anywhere in the middle of Ohio is going to be [expletive] scary. I mean, I've seen what they do to the rainbow crowd," she explained. When asked to elaborate, she turned to Hummel. He continued with, "I've known I was different most of my life. And I was bullied for being gay before I even knew what that meant. The past year, I was forced to transfer to Dalton for safety reasons."
The Dalton Academy is a private boys school located in Westerville which has become famous for its anti-harassment and bullying policy. This policy is one which the students are trying to raise support for, in hopes that it will be implemented at McKinley High as well.
Also circulated during the introduction and performance was an anti-bullying petition written by Berry and her fathers, Hiram and Leroy Berry, both prominent local attorneys. It includes a promise to not only resist bullying others, but to stand up for those who one sees being bullied. "Too often, people ignore those who are being picked on," Berry spoke to the crowd. "We think that it's not our problem. We're not the ones being pushed around or having hurtful words thrown at us, and if we stand up for them maybe we'll become the victim. So why upset the status quo?" Montgomery went on to share a set of truly terrifying statistics. According to studies, done by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, in 2004 a total of 4,999 individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 committed suicide. Another study, from the American Psychological Association, declared that 70% of middle school and high school students experience bullying. Additionally, Hummel shared the staggering fact that an Institute of Medicine study found one out of every five teens who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual will attempt suicide. He asked those gathered to picture a group of kindergartners. "Imagine there are twenty-five children in a class. They are young and innocent and full of potential. They are the future. Now imagine if five of them simply ceased to exist."
At the end of the half hour which the introduction and performance spanned, most of those watching came up to promise their support to the group. While the petition only had 32 signatures, Berry said "It's better than we expected, really. And even if they didn't sign, now all those people are aware of the issue." "It gets harder to ignore it when you know specifics," Montgomery added.
For more information regarding the campaign and petition, visit the website born-this-way (/) glee (.) net.