GAY PEOPle's ChronICLE MARCH 21, 1997

EDITORIAL

Okay, now walk the walk

For those who know the Bible, the New Testament book of James is a familiar one. It is there that we hear "Become doers of the word, and not hearers only" (1:22), and “Indeed, as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (2:26). If James were alive today, perhaps he would have said, "Hey, walk the walk, don't just talk the talk."

Danielle Kirkland referred to the book of James when she addressed students and others at a memorial mass held for her brother on Tuesday, March 11 in the student chapel at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.

Robbie Kirkland, a 14-year-old St. Ignatius freshman who had struggled with his sexuality, took his own life on January 2 of this year. The Chronicle published a special feature, "Why did Robbie Kirkland have to die?" in the February 21 issue. Since the tragedy of Robbie's death, Danielle and her family have been called to action, and hope to motivate others to "walk the walk" with them. Many have begun the journey.

At the end of the service, Danielle stood up on behalf of the family to thank those in attendance. Before leaving the podium, she said that Robbie had struggled with the issue of his sexuality during his life. A life-long Catholic, she reminded others that the church should be about teaching tolerance and acceptance. Alluding to the book of James, she asked the students to remember her brother by accepting other people who, like him, might be different. She challenged them to be examples of Christian love.

According to Richard Fujimoto, an English teacher at St. Ignatius, the students that attended the memorial mass for Robbie said that they admired Danielle for saying what she did. “They said that it's a message that they need to hear again... that they hear it, but sometimes when there's a face behind it, it's much more powerful."

Mark Hricko, a gay man who graduated from St. Ignatius in 1992, said Fujimoto is known to consistently "walk the walk." Hricko said that when he was a student, Fujimoto was "trying to address concerns about Ignatius' gay and bisexual students." The teacher used the February 21 article about Robbie in one of his classes.

"We discussed it, and [the students] were very open and honest," Fujimoto said. One student commented that he didn't understand why the Chronicle portrayed St. Ignatius as having a "macho culture."

"Three other kids said, 'Oh yeah, it's here,' so they're challenging each other, and a few years ago this wouldn't have happened."

Fujimoto added that, beginning in August of last year, a conscious effort was made to address the issue of homophobia at St. Ignatius.

"I think that despite what's been reported, that the position of the faculty and administration is one of really putting forth effort to

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try to affirm the dignity of everybody," Fujimoto said. "Sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're not. The thing I want to emphasize is that the process is not going to be overnight, but that it was really started before the article came out and before the tragedy [of Robbie's suicide].”

If that's the case, it's difficult to understand the position of St. Ignatius principal Richard Clark. He has consistently said no to the idea of having a gay person come to the school to talk to the student body about the issues affecting gay people, particularly gay youth.

"For educational reasons, or to really communicate to kids, we don't generally do it in large assemblies," Clark said.

This was disappointing news to Danielle Kirkland, who said, "You can hand them a pile of statistics, but it doesn't do anything unless someone can get in there and speak with them, or implement some type of educational program."

She urged people to continue to put pressure on the school to address the issue of gay and bisexual youth.

not

"It's going to take outside pressure, just from our family, but from alumnus, from other people who care. There's a problem here, and something needs to be done about it."

After reading the Chronicle story, Hricko sent a letter to an Internet list of St. Ignatius alumni. He urged people to write to the school, especially if they were gay or bisexual, and urge it to address the issue of homophobia.

Ironically, Hricko received a solicitation from the St. Ignatius alumni fund. “I'm going to send my contribution to the fund along with my letter," he said. He urged other alumni to do the same. Clark verified that letters have been received by the school.

Hricko also brainstormed with Robbie's mother about establishing a scholarship fund at St. Ignatius, and proposed calling it "the Robbie Kirkland memorial fund for gay and bisexual students."

"That way it forces Ignatius to deal with the fact that there are gay and bisexual students at Ignatius, and it also forces Ignatius to deal with the fact that one of their students killed himself," Hricko said.

Deepest thanks

To the Editors:

~NYC

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When Robbie's mother approached the school with the idea, again Clark declined.

"We don't give scholarships, and we explained that to her," Clark said. "We give out financial aid, and the money is dispersed through our financial aid department. If her intention was to help a particular student or group of students through this [fund], we wouldn't be able to do that through our financial aid department. To say 'This is for a gay student,' or 'This is for a student from Westlake,' we can't do it."

The principal did not shut the door completely, though. "If she wanted to establish a fund where we could use it through health class or another class, a classroom discus`sion of this, I wouldn't be out-and-out opposed to that."

Danielle envisions the school starting programs that would "make a difference and make [St. Ignatius] a more comfortable atmosphere for boys to come out." Money from the fund could be used to purchase gaypositive books for the school's library. Or classroom videos that illustrate how homophobia is a threat to a person's emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.

Like Fujimoto, Clark said that efforts are taking place to ensure the safety of all St. Ignatius students. He said that the school encourages boys to come forward if they witness a verbal or physical attack on another student, and that a student would be suspended if he was heard calling another boy a "fag."Clark stressed that in the case of Robbie Kirkland, the school was not aware that any verbal abuse was taking place.

"In the case of Robbie, I've heard that St. Ignatius somehow knew that all this was going on, and that's baloney," Clark said. "I certainly don't think it's fair to say we callously overlooked this-that's not the case. Now, can we do a better job? We can do a better job always on everything. Does it make us more sensitive? Absolutely. Does it make us look at our curriculum? Absolutely. And does it have us question ourselves as to what we're doing? Sure."

Hricko remembered three of the "tenets of a Jesuit education" that he learned while he was a student at St. Ignatius-to be loving, to be open to growth, and to have a commitment to doing justice.

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"The question that needs to be asked, I think, of the Ignatius students and faculty, is did we do justice with Robbie?" said Hricko. "And are we doing justice for Robbie after his death? And is St. Ignatius open to growth and are they being loving? I think that some people would say they are not."

The dialogue has begun, good intentions are there, but it is time to find ways to move from "talking" to "walking." Those who are already walking the walk need to lead the way. We can all find ways to be more loving, to be more open to growth. But, in memory of Robbie Kirkland, and for all the Robbies everywhere, let's not wait another day be fore we reaffirm our commitment to doing justice.

It's as easy as taking that first step.

COMMUNITY FORUM

We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to all those who responded to the article "Why did Robbie Kirkland have to die?" in the February 21 issue of the Gay People's Chronicle. We regret that we cannot thank everyone individually due to the number of kind responses we have received.

Our efforts will always be towards fostering a greater acceptance and tolerance of gay, lesbian and bisexual people. We hope and dream of the day when all people, regardless of race, creed, or sexual preference, are treated equally.

God bless you.

The family of Robbie Kirkland: John, Danielle, and Claudia Kirkland Peter, Leslie and Alexandria Sadasivan Cleveland

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