When I graduated from George Washington High School in 2008, I was very proud to have attended a Kanawha County High School because its vision was progressive. On many print-outs displayed around my high school, I learned that the district's vision was to have "schools that are safe and caring places" and that "schools, parents and community must be partners in learning." I was able to vote for my school board members in 2008, and I voted for the people who I felt would best carry out this vision. These two individuals won the election, and I expected great changes for Kanawha County Schools.

When I cast my vote, I was worried about the future of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. I thought of the time I was denied the right to start a gay-straight alliance at my high school. Would students in the near future be allowed to publicly support and defend a community that has faced many hardships? I thought of the student at George Washington High School who was harassed to an extreme degree because he was a young gay male who wore make up; he later went to counseling because he suffered severe depression.  Would LGBT students in the near future feel that their administrators could be allies in their struggle? In April, many of my questions were answered when Kanawha County Schools planned on adding "sexual orientation" to the Cultural Diversity Policy.

Unfortunately, Kanawha County Schools took the opposite direction on Thursday night and decided to leave this group of individuals out of the policy. I want to warn the school board members first and foremost: you will not get my vote in the future. I voted for candidates who believed in upholding the vision that was proudly displayed around my school, not for those who would abandon LGBT students.

Kanawha County School Board members, you have disappointed me, because you put your own agenda and ideology ahead of the safety and well-being of several hundred students who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. You succumbed to the demand of groups that promote an agenda that most Americans do not agree with in 2009. Needless to say, you are not preparing students to work in environments where others are different from them. You failed to send the message that any person is entitled to basic human respect, and treating someone otherwise will not be tolerated.

The attacks launched by anti-gay groups were not truthful. Many of these groups stated that sexual orientation's presence in any policy will promote homosexuality and bring it in the classroom. Needless to say, you cannot teach homosexuality. I am pretty sure my gay friends were not taught with textbooks, diagrams and resources on how to be gay -- because that would have been made their experiences much easier. Unfortunately, you cannot live up to the vision of Kanawha County Schools when you purposefully exclude a group of people from being protected in schools. Students cannot have safe schools when their leaders and administrators cannot formally recognize prejudices that happen in their school. Without the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the policy, parents and the community will not be able to recognize the efforts that LGBT students and teachers have made for their children. They will not learn about the gay student at my high school who frequently contributed his time to community service, nor will they learn about the lesbian student who made time out of her day to talk to people that no one else would talk to in the lunchroom.

By failing to add sexual orientation to the Cultural Diversity Policy the school board and anti-gay groups were successful in squashing the "homosexual agenda." What is the "homosexual agenda?" As a big supporter of their community, I can tell you the agenda is short: "always practice tolerance, fight for justice and equality, and oh yes -- work out once a day."

When I graduated from George Washington High School in 2008, I was very proud to have attended a Kanawha County High School because its vision was progressive. On many print-outs displayed around my high school, I learned that the district's vision was to have "schools that are safe and caring places" and that "schools, parents and community must be partners in learning." I was able to vote for my school board members in 2008, and I voted for the people who I felt would best carry out this vision. These two individuals won the election, and I expected great changes for Kanawha County Schools.

When I cast my vote, I was worried about the future of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. I thought of the time I was denied the right to start a gay-straight alliance at my high school. Would students in the near future be allowed to publicly support and defend a community that has faced many hardships? I thought of the student at George Washington High School who was harassed to an extreme degree because he was a young gay male who wore make up; he later went to counseling because he suffered severe depression.  Would LGBT students in the near future feel that their administrators could be allies in their struggle? In April, many of my questions were answered when Kanawha County Schools planned on adding "sexual orientation" to the Cultural Diversity Policy.

Unfortunately, Kanawha County Schools took the opposite direction on Thursday night and decided to leave this group of individuals out of the policy. I want to warn the school board members first and foremost: you will not get my vote in the future. I voted for candidates who believed in upholding the vision that was proudly displayed around my school, not for those who would abandon LGBT students.

Kanawha County School Board members, you have disappointed me, because you put your own agenda and ideology ahead of the safety and well-being of several hundred students who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. You succumbed to the demand of groups that promote an agenda that most Americans do not agree with in 2009. Needless to say, you are not preparing students to work in environments where others are different from them. You failed to send the message that any person is entitled to basic human respect, and treating someone otherwise will not be tolerated.

The attacks launched by anti-gay groups were not truthful. Many of these groups stated that sexual orientation's presence in any policy will promote homosexuality and bring it in the classroom. Needless to say, you cannot teach homosexuality. I am pretty sure my gay friends were not taught with textbooks, diagrams and resources on how to be gay -- because that would have been made their experiences much easier. Unfortunately, you cannot live up to the vision of Kanawha County Schools when you purposefully exclude a group of people from being protected in schools. Students cannot have safe schools when their leaders and administrators cannot formally recognize prejudices that happen in their school. Without the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the policy, parents and the community will not be able to recognize the efforts that LGBT students and teachers have made for their children. They will not learn about the gay student at my high school who frequently contributed his time to community service, nor will they learn about the lesbian student who made time out of her day to talk to people that no one else would talk to in the lunchroom.

By failing to add sexual orientation to the Cultural Diversity Policy the school board and anti-gay groups were successful in squashing the "homosexual agenda." What is the "homosexual agenda?" As a big supporter of their community, I can tell you the agenda is short: "always practice tolerance, fight for justice and equality, and oh yes -- work out once a day."