The majority of speakers showed support for the LGBTQ+ Pride flag being displaying in classrooms.

 The majority of speakers showed support for the LGBTQ+ Pride flag being displaying in classrooms.

Cheri Roben, a teacher at Monterey Road Elementary School in Atascadero, came out as gay for the first time publicly at the meeting with her wife in attendance.She said during her comments that she’d been in the closet for 26 years — afraid to be open about her sexuality for fear of harassment, intimidation and bullying from the school district and community.

“What (Jen Pence) did meant something to me, enough for me to come here and reveal myself,” Roben said during the Tuesday meeting. “If that flag had been in a classroom when I was a student, or my wife or my two queer children, I cannot express to you what that would have meant to me to see that and know that I didn’t have to be afraid of somebody screaming at me across the quad. ... So you may think what you do about that flag, but you have no idea what it really means. It means that I don’t have to be afraid.”

A junior at Atascadero High School, Keith Kania, said during the meeting that homophobia is “by far the biggest issue I’ve seen at our high school.”He noted that the school district has taken strides toward improving inclusivity at schools, including by the “establishment of an LGBT club and comprehensive sex education that teaches about heterosexual and homosexual relationships.”

“We need to remember that displaying an LGBT flag is not just a symbol of acceptance and inclusivity. It reminds every student that the schools of our districts are a haven where they can be their true selves without fear,” Kania said. “Rather than diminishing our students, it would be significantly more beneficial for our district to embrace (the Pride flag’s) presence in not just one classroom, but all classrooms. ... This shows the importance of acceptance of all persons on campus and acts as a unifying symbol of our stance against bigotry and hate, but rather in favor of unity and understanding.”

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