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> Rosemary Linares
 She
Proves Excellence is the Antidote to Intolerance
Meet
Colin Higgins Courage Award Winner Rosemary Linares
Rosemary,
an 18-year-old bisexual, began the coming out process during her
junior year of high school, telling only her closest friends at
first. That summer, she attended a Leadership Training Institute
sponsored by Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). On
the way home from the airport, she mustered up the courage to come
out to her mother. Though she's still learning, her mother's initial
reaction was supportive.
The
community on the other hand has not been quite as understanding.
"Before I was even out -- just vocally supportive of the LGBT
community -- many people mocked, teased and criticized me,"
said Rosemary.
The discrimination Rosemary experienced was subtle yet powerful. During her junior year Rosemary was assigned to do a presentation on a twentieth century social protest for her social studies class. She chose the struggle for equality for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.
Her teacher opposed her choice and tried to force Rosemary to either switch out of the class or drop it entirely. Going to the Principal
of the high school was little help. He sided with the teacher, claiming
her project would create division in the classroom. But Mom put
the pressure on the Superintendent of the Saline Area Schools and
eventually Rosemary was allowed to give her five-minute presentation
to the class. There was no division, just applause.
"This
example of discrimination was a monumental experience for me. In
the end, my success showed me that I have a lot of inner strength
and power that I never acknowledged before," said Rosemary.
For
the final class project, each student had to prepare a two-minute
speech on his or her hardest assignment of the year. Rosemary spoke
about her ordeal over the social protest project. While slightly
exceeding the two-minute limit, she captivated the entire class
who had no idea what she had gone through. Though she received the
longest and loudest round of applause, she received only a B+ on
the project.
Braced
with newly found confidence, Rosemary set her sights on starting
a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) in the school. When word got out,
the teacher who agreed to sponsor the GSA was threatened and her
classroom vandalized.
This
made Rosemary even more determined, but time had passed and the
students helping her graduated. Flying solo, Rosemary went ahead
with her plans and was thrilled when thirteen people showed up at
the first meeting. The numbers continued to grow throughout the
first year.
"I
was so happy, but a little shocked," said Rosemary. "I
had no idea Saline High had so many people interested in the rights
and issues of the LGBT community. I just kept hoping that my work
would pay off and it turned out even better than I imagined."
At
the end of the summer Rosemary will be attending Antioch College,
a small liberal arts school in Ohio. She hopes to take advantage
of the special co-op program where she will have the opportunity
to travel, studying and working in other countries.
Eventually,
Rosemary says she would like to go on to graduate school and possibly
get her doctorate. She said, "My dream is that when I'm towards
the end of my life, I will have won some victories for humanity."
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