As the clock ticked noon last Thursday, March 3, students across Pine View’s campus slung backpacks over their shoulders, exited their classrooms and headed toward the quad. Amongst the crowd, some held pride flags while others reached for their phones as Class of 2022 President, twelfth-grader Zander Moricz, stepped onto the concrete bench that encircled an elevated sundial.
“Okay, so, the reason that there is a walkout today is because schools across Florida are posting with #DSGWalkout. The reason that this is happening is because schools in Tallahassee will be demonstrating all of these posts to their senators live. The reason that we’re having walkouts is not just for us to be here and talk, it’s to show and demonstrate support for all the students in Tallahassee,” Moricz said, gesturing toward the congregation of students in front of him.
These statewide displays of student opposition were all against Florida Senate Bill 1834/HB 1557, publicly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Tallahassee students presented these posts during the Florida Senate hearing, and the bill passed the Senate floor March 7, making its way to Governor Ron DeSantis. The bill states: “A school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.” The effective date for the bill is July 1, 2022. According to Moricz, the bill will outlaw all discourse of the LGBTQ+ community in schools, including clubs and affinity groups. Although Florida legislator Joe Harding withdrew an amendment that would have required schools to disclose whether a child is LGBTQ+ to their parents, despite concerns of abuse, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and its possible implications will still directly impact queer students.
“We have a lot of friends who aren’t able to come out to their parents. Having the one place where they can be themselves taken away sucks,” tenth-grader Allison Layendecker said.
The language of the bill specifies application to K-3 classrooms, but also leaves room for extension to higher grades.
“They’re not letting younger kids know about it. By the time they get to fifth grade, you’re gonna have it ingrained in them as, ‘It’s not okay,’ or ‘It’s a secret that we shouldn’t talk about,’ and it’s showing kids that what they are and who they want to be isn’t okay,” seventh-grader Paige Six said. “Let’s say a kid has two dads. They can’t talk about it or be proud of their parents … I think it’s really messed up, the way they are silencing children and their families.”
With many schools across Florida receiving backlash for student opposition to the bill, and one high school senior, Jack Petocz, being suspended, some students had concerns about how administration would react to the walkout at Pine View. However, these concerns did not come to fruition, as the environment on the quad was largely positive.
“I think at Pine View we are fortunate to have an administration that does support the student body and is aware of social issues. There are many schools where these walkouts were stomped out immediately and that did make me very worried about what would happen today. But, I’m grateful for the administration’s support and I’m grateful that the security officers were there not on behalf of anybody but the students,” Moricz said.
For many students, expressing collective opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill also meant witnessing support from their peers.
“I look around and I see this sea of people that are here today — not to make fun of anything, completely unironically. It just makes me really happy. It feels like a community,” a student who wishes to remain anonymous, due to privacy concerns, said.
Contributing Reporters: Alyson Mizanin and Robyn Schoenberg