Monte del Sol encounters, responds to homophobic graffiti.
It was only a few minutes into first period when the group of teenagers began spray painting their own message on the beige brick wall that runs above the roof of Monte del Sol Charter School.
***image1***"Gay," "White," "Muslim," "Black," the kids wrote in carefully constructed letters, the colored mist from their canisters drifting off into the parched winter air like plumes of smoke from a rifle blast.
A few days earlier, it had been a different story. That's when a school maintenance man, going about his usual weekend rounds on Jan. 21, discovered what somebody had scrawled in large, disjointed black letters on the very same brick wall:
"QUEERS 'R' US. What'r U gunna do tony? cry about it?" the graffiti read, its message as confusing and bizarre as the inspiration that compelled its authors.
***image2***Tony Gerlicz, Monte del Sol's head learner (principal), known to get emotional at school meetings and to whom the message was clearly addressed, called the police the day the graffiti was discovered. Though the words leave room for interpretation, Gerlicz believes the vandalism was homophobic in intent because Monte del Sol is known for its tolerance of diversity.
"It could have been interpreted as a gay or lesbian youth writing this to make a statement, but that doesn't ring true to me especially because we are a school that has a very open culture," Gerlicz says. "What rings more true is that this was an anti-gay message from somebody who doesn't like the fact that we promote an open society."
English teacher Seth Biderman agrees. Following an all-school meeting on Jan. 24 to discuss the incident, Biderman and his 10th grade English class decided to write their own words over the fresh paint that school staff used to cover the graffiti.
"We want to turn the message around and put up one of diversity instead of hateful intentions," Biderman, a faculty advisor to the school's student-composed Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), says. "This is our way of retaliating."
The morning of Jan. 25, Biderman's students scampered excitedly up a ladder leading to the roof and set to work, deciding what to write on their own, as other students and faculty poured out into the school's courtyard to watch.
"I personally was not offended by the message, but I think everyone is having strong reactions to the intention behind it," 10th grader Ariana Hawthorne-Davis, a member of the GSA, says.
This was the first major incident of its type for Monte del Sol, a charter school that opened in 2000 and has 360 students from grades seven through 12 chosen by lottery. Schools, however, are often rife with homophobia.
According to a 2005 study conducted by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 90 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students report being harassed or assaulted at school. The study also notes 33 percent of teens across the country report that students are frequently harassed because they are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual.
GLSEN Spokesperson Riley Snorton says GSAs such as the one at Monte del Sol are a critical means to combat homophobia in schools and help make marginalized students feel safer.
"These organizations are an important part of the solution when it comes to responding to the anti-gay/lesbian harassment which happens in schools," she says.
According to Snorton, there are more than 3,000 such organizations at schools throughout the US.
Santa Fe Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Johnson says police have no leads or suspects in the vandalism but Gerlicz believes the culprit is someone associated with the school, someone who takes serious issue with diversity being a core value of Monte del Sol.
"Of course we don't expect all of our students to buy into the principles which govern our school, but there are clear expectations of appropriate and inappropriate behavior," he says. "We're looking at this as a marvelous opportunity to reinforce that message."
