Will Nuelle

It’d be pointless to recount the details of CAUSE assembly because we all were there. We all sat there in our chairs and smiled, laughed, and what have you, at what the speakers had to say. I felt at ease listening to their words, even though “coming out” is possibly a topic that makes people a little more anxious than normal. The CAUSE assembly may have only been a short 20 minute Gathering block, but the influence of that 20 minutes on our school culture is very profound.

Some of the speakers may have been nervous, but they had good reason to be. To go up on stage in front of all your peers and teachers, not just to make an announcement, but to share with everyone a fundamental part of your identity takes tremendous bravery. It is these students and the CAUSE who are single-handedly making Latin an understanding environment. By putting themselves out there, they set a precedent for people being comfortable and open about who they are in our community.

The best example came from Senior Jake Schlossberg who shared a story about telling his grandmother he was gay. He didn’t present it in a way that made it seem like a grave moment, instead he presented it rather light-heartedly. He showed to the school that he was genuinely comfortable with himself, and was hilarious in the process. If kids can get up on stage and have the courage to speak about their sexuality without any second thoughts, then what can’t kids talk about with their peers and teachers?

I think the CAUSE is leading the way at Latin in showing students that’s it’s okay to be who you are; no matter who you are — gay, straight, black, white, hispanic, asian, native american, or any other identity — there are always people at Latin there to listen. It is becoming okay, one step at a time, to be whoever you want to be at Latin, and if you can’t be who you want to be, then who the hell are you?