by Joanna Klonsky

Ann Arbor, Michigan has a reputation. Home to the University of Michigan, it’s known as a progressive community, where anyone can feel comfortable and accepted, regardless of their sexual or gender identity. But two years ago, when a teenager said he had nearly been run off the road by some classmates because he was gay, the teachers at his high school “didn’t believe him, because it’s Ann Arbor, and we’re supposed to be all gay friendly and everything,” says Sterling Field, 17, a senior at Ann Arbor’s Huron High School and a friend of the boy.

From that point on, says Field, the youth activists in Riot Youth, Ann Arbor’s organization for queer youth, set out to prove that despite conventional wisdom, “there is a lot of discrimination, slurs and all that present” in their schools.

Riot Youth created a survey, which the group’s members distributed to 1,200 people in the Ann Arbor public school district. Now, they are analyzing the results, which they will compile into a comprehensive report and distribute to community members and school officials.

According to Field, Riot Youth hopes the survey’s results will lead to the passage of Matt’s Safe School Law, anti-bullying legislation in Michigan. The law was named for Matt Epling, a Michigan teen who was harassed in school until he committed suicide in 2002.

Gayrilla Theater

In addition to their survey work, some members of Riot Youth have created a theater troupe, called “Gayrilla Theater.” “A survey can get a little boring, so they’re doing theater to convey what adults can do to create a safe space in their classes and in their community,” says Amy McLoughlin, Riot Youth’s program adviser.

“We use it to educate people about the issues that LGBTQQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning) teens face. It gets the point across a lot better than just reading people something or lecturing them about something,” says Elinor Epperson, a senior at Community High School in Ann Arbor, and one of the Gayrilla actors.

The troupe’s performances shed light on “what it’s like to be a queer teen in the Ann Arbor public schools and in Washtenaw County,” says Epperson, 17. Gayrilla Theater has performed for the board of directors of the Neutral Zone, Ann Arbor’s youth-driven teen center, which houses Riot Youth. The troupe is also planning performances for the Michigan Board of Education and for counselors at Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School.

A Safe Space

For the teens that are part of the group, Riot Youth is a training ground for future activism and social consciousness. But it is also a safe space. Participating in Riot Youth has been “pretty influential” for Epperson, who has been involved in the organization since her sophomore year. Except for the people she knows at Riot Youth, “all of my friends are straight,” she says, and they have “demonstrated that they don’t particularly understand the issues that queer youth face.”

Epperson, who will be attending Kalamazoo College in the fall, says an admissions officer there told her the work she has been doing with Riot Youth would likely afford her some merit aid. As it turns out, she will be receiving a $48,000 scholarship.

Riot Youth has been a source of support and community for Field as well. As a high school freshman that had recently come out, he says, “I was pretty much isolated. I was the only one in our school who was openly gay. I desperately needed to find other people, to make sure I wasn’t the only one.” For Field, Riot Youth was “my first connection to the gay community,” he says. “It has become a major part of my life.”