Nearly 90 Percent of High School Seniors Report Harassment of Gays, Lesbians at Schools, Says Hamilton College-MTV Poll.

Publication: Ascribe Higher Education News Service

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COPYRIGHT 2001 AScribe

Byline: Hamilton College

NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (AScribe News) -- A survey of 1000 high school seniors, released today by Hamilton College and MTV and conducted by Zogby International, found a hostile environment for gays and lesbians in American high schools. The phrase "That's so gay," say 88 percent of seniors, is used by students at their school to talk about something they don't like, and half have seen classmates insult gay students by calling them "faggot, homo, dyke" or a similar name.

"Even though high school seniors tend to hold liberal, pro-gay opinions on many issues, gays still face a hostile environment in school," said Hamilton College Professor of Sociology Dennis Gilbert, who developed the poll with his students.

The poll ties in to the September 3rd premiere at 10:30 PM of a Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination episode of Flipped, MTV's newest reality-based series, from Arnold Shapiro Productions. In the show, a homophobic teen is asked by MTV to be a reporter and cover the gay community. He joins a meeting for a gay teen support group and learns just how harmful using words such as "That's so gay" and "faggot" (both of which are highlighted in the survey) can actually be. He is also shocked and...

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