Evan Young worked hard in high school—he achieved the highest GPA in his graduating class and was slated to be class valedictorian at Twin Peaks Charter Academy in Longmonth, Co. Openness and honesty are important to Evan and his speech reflected his personality with jokes, challenges in school and also his triumphs.
He also decided to disclose to the attendees of the ceremony that he is gay.
“I didn’t know how people would react to such a revelation,” said Evan in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now.
But the school banned Evan from delivering his speech when he went up to speak. Worse, the school principal called Evan’s parents to out him—an action that often has severe consequences for LGBTQ people and that is widely condemned by the community. Outing is not a safe way for LGBTQ people to have it become known who they are; however, Evan’s approach of disclosure at a ceremony among friends and loved ones is a safe and supportive way.
The good news is that bigotry didn’t win in this case. Evan did deliver his speech to a crowd of hundreds after he was invited to an Out Boulder fundraiser. Also, an openly gay congressman and first gay parent in Congress, Rep. Jared Polis, awarded Evan with a special congressional recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community.
The response to this bigotry has inspired many others around the country.
Second student also comes out in another Co. high school graduation
In Carbondale, Roaring Fork High School graduate Emily Bruell also decided to come out during her valedictorian speech. Emily got a standing ovation from the attendees of the graduation as soon as she revealed the word “gay.”
Evan and Emily have been in touch about their experiences.
A message from Evan to Emily read in part: “You are such a courageous person, and I would have thought a large, public high school would be much less accepting of people like us than the small group of friends I was going to address. Nonetheless, you stuck with the message of your speech, and were confident that you weren’t going to be judged based on a handful of labels. You’re a much braver person than I am. I hate it how all the articles I’ve read about you also mention me. Your awesomeness has nothing to do with me, and I think it’s wrong for the media to in any way distract from the attention you deserve.”
Evan will be attending Rutgers University in New Jersey and Emily begins her studies at Bates College in Maine.
