17c起草社区

When 17-year-old, Tyler Johnson was selected by his Syracuse, New York school’s newspaper聽Knight Insight聽to be highlighted in its Senior Spotlight series, he was not shy about his experiences.

In a TikTok he said he wrote, 鈥淭he biggest challenge I faced was growing up gay and coming out. I had to learn how to become comfortable in my own skin and how to stay strong through bullying and all the negative experiences I had while trying to navigate through life.鈥�

https://www.tiktok.com/@_tylerrayjohnson_/video/7050249865988771119?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7054324585420686853

‘You Can鈥檛 Say You鈥檙e Gay’

He told he did not expect Mike O鈥橞rien, the principal of Tully High School, to call him into his office and tell him to “re-write his story: specifically, the part about the challenges he鈥檚 faced, the part where he鈥檚 gay.” Johnson said O鈥橞rien told him, 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 say you鈥檙e gay or that overcoming bullying is your accomplishment.鈥�

When Johnson questioned this, O鈥橞rien responded saying that it was nothing personal and it was only due to school policy.聽 Johnson told the principal that he would rather the school paper not print the article at all, rather than make any changes.

The principal refused to back down when Johnson鈥檚 mother called for an explanation, repeating that he could not go against formal district policy.

Johnson Frustrated By Incident

Despite the response from the Tully community, being immediate, overwhelming, and supportive, the homophobic encounter resulted in severe anxiety, Johnson told The Advocate.

Johnson said he was frustrated with the entire incident: 鈥淵ou think we鈥檙e, you know, making progress and then something like that happens and you realize we鈥檙e not as far as we think we are.鈥�

According to聽the latest 2021 survey from , states that 42 percent of 17c起草社区I youth, aged 12-17, seriously considered suicide.

According to , in 2021, 59.1% of LGBTIQ young people aged 16 to 17 reported experiencing suicidal ideation in the past 12 months compared to 11.2% in the general population

In Australia, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash鈥檚 department has not only religious schools鈥� right to fire teachers for their views on sexuality under the Federal Government鈥檚 revised Religious Discrimination Bill but also left the door open to changes to the separate Sex Discrimination Act aimed at safeguarding 17c起草社区I students.

If you feel distressed reading the story, you can reach out to support services.

For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14

For Australia-wide 17c起草社区I peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or .