Teen Observer Archive

D.C. earned the highest ranking possible from the Human Rights Campaign thanks to its laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, ensuring transgender people have access to healthcare, and supporting LGBTQ youth.
One such law is the LGBTQ Cultural Competency Continuing Education Amendment Act, which requires doctors to complete training on “attitudes, knowledge and skills that enable a health care professional to care effectively for patients who identify as LGBTQ.”
D.C. has the highest population of openly LGBTQ people in the United States, making up 9.8% of the district’s population, according to a study from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
“Obviously, some people are hesitant to change, but from when I was little to now, the change has been drastic,” Elizabeth Hanje, a member of the Washington National Opera Institute, said.
Hanje said she was unaware of any resources that existed on campus to learn more about the LGBTQ community.
“I think the best way to learn is instead of looking for resources, asking and meeting people, talking to them, going to LGBTQ clubs and events,” said Mandy Kraft, an alum of American University.
Kraft said this year’s celebrations, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprisings, were a “monumental mark for the LGBTQ movement in America.”
Kraft, who works for the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA, said one of the government buildings in Alexandria recently put up a pride flag for the first time.
“[Pride celebrations] have had such a large, positive impact on the community,” she said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which took place in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in New York City. Stonewall was just one of many places in that LGBTQ community of Greenwich that were raided and constantly under harassment from the police, according to History.com. 

Since then, June was to be known as LGBTQ Pride month, and the Pride events that take place during this month are to show, recognize, accept, and celebrate the LGBTQ community, their impact, and their rights. 

“It’s 2019, people should be chill about people’s identity,” American University student Raymond Diaz said. 

“(I’m) happy to see the progress in their community, and remembering those individuals that came before, and the struggles they went through so that the people now don’t have to go through that as much,” American University alum Ivette said. 

(The celebrations are) “places where people can be free like a nice day everyday,” she said.

Stonewall helped spark a new era for the LGBTQ community, and just like Stonewall, Evan Glass, Montgomery County council member said he wanted to do the same for the county. Glass said he wanted to launch a new beginning for Pride month, according to Patch.com. 

“With the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots just a few weeks away, it is important to reflect on how far we have come as a community and how far we still have to go,” Glass told Patch.com. “I hope Pride 2019 is a starting point to have these conversations and create spaces for residents to connect with each other. If you are an LGBTQ person living in Montgomery County, know that you have a whole community behind you.”

Glass also said that when he got elected, he “realized there were no coordinated events to celebrate Pride.” He went on to say that he “wanted to make sure that all of our families have a place in Montgomery County where they can come together as families, friends, and allies, and celebrate our wonderful diversity,” according to  Metroweekly.com.

There are 2,184 same-sex couples in Montgomery County, according to williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu. This makes it the second-most same-sex couples in all of Maryland, according to a project done by the The Williams Institute.

The Pride events in the county include their first ever LGBTQ Family Day on June 23 at  Maryland’s historic Glen Echo Park. This is the first LGBTQ event the park has ever hosted. There was also a drag performance at a LGBTQ-owned business, Denizens Brewery, a screening of Before Stonewall at the AFI Silver Theatre, a Pride flag-raising ceremony, and many others with the MoCo Pride Party in Rockville Town Center being the final event to conclude the Montgomery County Pride celebrations, according to Metroweekly.com. 

MoCo Pride Center’s goal is to “organize, support, educate, and provide outreach to the LGBTQ community and its allies,” Mocopridecenter.com wrote. 

June 29 marks the first-ever MoCo Pride Party 2019 run by the non-profit organization MoCo Pride Center in Montgomery County. “This pride celebration will feature all night entertainment, an unforgettable community atmosphere, food and drink vendors, and local queer organizations. Featuring performances by RuPaul’s Drag Race Superstar, Peppermint,” the website wrote.

“We want to spread a message of hope and compassion. We believe that a single action can make a difference in a community, and that collective actions can greatly impact the world,” MoCo Pride Center stated. 

In a day and age where many are struggling to get by, the price of higher education is greater than ever before. 

The last 20 years saw the elevation of the cost of tuition by 157 percent for private universities, 194 percent for out-of-state public universities, and 237 percent for in-state public universities, according to CNBC.

To combat this, many initiatives are taking place across the country. 

The programs are being referred to as “promise programs,” and are being enacted in places like San Francisco, New York, Tennessee, and Arizona. 

But, many don’t think it’s enough.

The structure of these institutions for higher education continues to be challenged, with students speaking out about the hard truth about the financial climate many are facing.

 “School has become an industry where it is no longer about educating students, but making money off them,” says university graduate Nina Larson, attendee of WNO Opera Institute summer program at American University.  

“These institutions know that we can’t get anywhere in this climate without a college education, so it makes sense that these prices have gone up, because they know we’ll pay it no matter our income,” she said.

Larson said she is a firm believer that public institutions should be free, as everyone has a right to higher education and should receive all the resources necessary to make that happen. 

“Institutions know we can’t and won’t receive any chances without that piece of paper,” she said. 

Arizona State University recently introduced two of these “promise programs” to enable the seeking of higher education for low-income residents. 

Programs such as the ASU College Attainment Grant Program and the Obama Scholars Program are geared towards “highly motivated Arizona residents who demonstrate leadership qualities,” the university said.

The first program is offered to Pell Grant recipients, while the latter is given to low-income students whose families generate less than $42,400 annually, according to CNBC.

In 2019, House Bill 2061 was enacted by Arizona governor Doug Ducey stating that students in foster care who meet the given requirements will receive a tuition waiver for community college and four-year universities.

Although these programs immensely help low-income residents seeking higher education, they aren’t available everywhere. The Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA), however, is. 

With this application, students receive federal financial aid based on many different factors, mostly related to income. Due to this, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $150 billion each year, making it the largest provider for financial aid in the nation, a report from the Arizona Board of Regents shows. 

A bill that plans to have the state of Arizona and its taxpayers split the cost of tuition for the three universities is in the works.The bill is meant to balance the pay for college tuition between two parties, so that it doesn’t fall more heavily on one alone. 

The state only contributes 34% of the price of educating one student, according to the Arizona  Capitol Times.

“The goal of SB 1518 is to get state support to $7,900 per student in today’s dollars, what the Board of Regents figures is half the cost of education,” the Arizona Capitol Times wrote. 

As election season looms closer, some presidential candidates are announcing their plans for the issue of free college tuition. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are both democratic candidates that have proposed plans for erasing the national student debt as well as making college free for everyone. 

In Arizona, free college tuition comes in several different forms. While not everyone is guaranteed a free education at university, there are programs in place that help minority students and those who come from low income families.  

“If college was free, it would allow people to choose schools based off the studies they offer and not solely on what they can afford,” American University student Nicole Narvaez said.

GoCollege found that nearly 70% of Arizona State University student body qualifies for some level scholarship money.

The Arizona constitution states that education, including universities, should be “as nearly free as possible,” to fight for a freer college tuition. Attorney General Mark Brnovich has sued the Board of Regents because of this, but his case was thrown out for “not having the legal authority to bring on such a case,” the Arizona Capitol Times reported. 

Scholarships are available to highly qualified students that meet merit based requirements as well as students that can’t afford it. Although there are many opportunities for students to find grants, financial aid and scholarship money, sometimes that is still not enough. 

Free college tuition would take the element of what one can afford, out of the equation. 

Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona proposed a plan for free education for students studying to become teachers. Although that is not exactly, free college for everyone, it certainly is a start. 

The program, which would pay for up to two years’ worth of education for students becoming teachers, was made to ensure that teachers stayed working in Arizona, due to a shortage of teachers in Arizona. The budget for the program planned to pay up to around $2.2 million for the 2018-2019 school year alone, AzCentral reported.

Pride month celebrations, which have become larger and more widely attended since 1969, especially after gay and lesbian marriage was legalized in 2015, are now celebrated in cities across the US, according to the Independent. 

“I’m so excited by it,” said Eva, a 17-year-old participant in the National Student Leadership Conference. Eva, who identifies as bisexual, enjoys pride month and the activities that come with it. 

Celebrating pride can mean many different things to many different people. 

70-year-old Leslie Ewing said, “for me, I’m celebrating that I’m a big old dyke” according to an interview conducted by Berkeleyside News. 

Ewing is the executive director of the Pacific Center, an LGBT advocacy center based in Berkeley.  

For many, Pride is a place for “people who haven’t previously had the opportunity to express themselves,” 19-year-old Kalissa said.

Kalissa said she couldn’t speak for everyone, but “from what I have seen the people that I know do support it and are happy with it.”   

Pride month, which first came about in June of 1969, according to the Library of Congress, is a series of parades, concerts, picnics, and events celebrating the gay community.

In the state of Minnesota, 4.1 percent of the population identifies as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer. Of that 4.1 percent, about 28% are 50 years of age or older, according to data from the Williams Institute.

 That means that in the entire state of Minnesota, about 1.1% of the population over the age of 50 is a part of this community. 

About 300,000 people attended the Minneapolis Pride parade that took place on Sunday, June 23rd, according to MPR News. 

New Hampshire signed two pieces of legislation in late 2018 that protects the LGBT community from discrimination in the midst of Pride celebrations. 

19 years ago, the month of June was declared Gay and Lesbian Pride Month by then-president Bill Clinton. Nine years later, Obama took a second step in naming the month of June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, according to the USDA.

The month was picked to honor the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in 1969.

“That event is often considered the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement,” the Boston Globe wrote.

A student from Massachusetts said there were no Pride parades close to her home, but they celebrate Pride by “everyone accepting each other,” she said. 

In New Hampshire, HB 1319 was signed into law in 2018, which does not allow discrimination based on gender identity. 

In the same time period, HB 587 was passed in New Hampshire to ban youth conversion therapy, which is a “dangerous and debunked practice,” according to the Human Rights Campaign.

In 2010, to look at the number of same-sex couples per 1,000 houses in New Hampshire. According to the USDA, Cheshire Country had the most same-sex couples in its area, with Merrimack and Rockingham counties coming in second place. 

“We can treat everyone the same regardless of what makes us different,” retired D.C. resident, Phoebe, said.

Citizens of Baltimore celebrate Pride Month in June of 2019.

When Mimi Demissew joined the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore, now known as the Pride Center of Baltimore, in 2017, she immediately felt that something needed to be changed.

She saw a fractured organization that had little attendance, and had the urge to help and change some aspects in the program. 

The biggest aspect was representation, especially of women, Demissew told the Baltimore Sun in an interview. She also said the cultural celebration had drifted away from its original mission, and the celebration didn’t include everyone. 

“Having queer women of color is very important, it is very vital to the community,” said Anjelika, an animation student at NSLC.

In Demissew’s interview with the Baltimore Sun, she states that women have not always been in the spotlight when it was men in charge. But when the AIDS epidemic hit in the 1980’s, women tended to be put in charge more often, according to the Baltimore Sun.

According to the Baltimore Sun, this was a result of the deaths of the gay men that worked in those positions. Women had gained leadership from the tragedy and the men that had not been affected did not necessarily want them in the leadership position. 

To Demissew, it was a very refreshing thing to see women now at the table with men and both have equal power. 

In 2015, Maryland education officials issued guidelines that suggested how school districts can create safer places for students who often face harassment, which targets transgender and gender non-conforming students. 

Howard County sent educators a document explaining on understanding gender identity, explaining terms, and instructions for educators on allowing students to use their preferred pronouns and bathrooms. 

“These protections have to be stronger than a suggestion,” Jabari Lyles, Baltimore’s LGBTQ affairs liaison, told the Baltimore Sun. “They have to be mandated.”

Across the nation, this has been a widespread topic of conversation.

“In Toronto, there have been gender-neutral bathrooms and talking about more awareness,” said Jasmine, an intern in Washington, D.C.

The Pride Center of Maryland has been looking to build and create their new home for the LGBTQ+ population in Baltimore. Mimi Demmissew, the director of the Pride Center, said the new building will be able to give the organization a permanent space to own while developing revenue as well.

The $7.4 million center will be located in Baltimore but will be able to serve all of central Maryland according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

They will offer services for case management, connections to medical care, housing, employment, education, and more. They also will be providing services and programs for families, youth, and adults. 

The non-profit Baltimore Improv Group hosts a series of shows that feature many stories told by those in the LGBTQ+ community. Those that host the event are wanting to let those who want to share their stories and have a little fun while doing so. 

The stories can be set in their everyday lives so not just LGBTQ+ topics will be brought up. “It could have a negative or positive effect and it depends on who is telling the story,” said Anjelika, a student at NSLC.