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Charlene: My name is [Charlene Lin 00:04]. I went to high school in Orange County, California.
Not that long ago, my main concerns were doing my homework and getting into a good college.
However, I began having feelings for my best friend [Tran 00:22]. We started dating, which
made me very happy, but after a while, something terrible began to happen. Kids got suspended
for vandalizing, starting fights. I got in trouble for kissing my girlfriend and I just
think that's really bizarre and unfair. I loved my girlfriend. I didn't think there
would be any harm in being affectionate. I didn't think that it was a crime. It's very
common to see that kind of behavior around high school.
Even my sister said that she used to make out with her boyfriend and she never got in
trouble for it back in high school. Students never showed any hatred or disgust and us
showing affections. I think they got used to it or they just accepted that we're who
we are. We thought that the teachers would be more supportive. The reality of it was
nobody openly supported us. They were all afraid to lose their jobs. Teachers do have
their biases, their prejudices. Text: Charlene and her girlfriend were suspended.
Charlene: I just felt like I was being punished for being who I was or am. It made me feel
a lot of self deprecation. Text: Charlene's invitation to the National
Honor Society was revoked. Charlene: My homeroom teacher who got it,
she called up the teacher who sent the invitation and said that I shouldn't get it because I
had a disciplinary record, so she threw it in the trash.
Text: The principal outed Charlene to her family.
Charlene: My mom, when I saw her, when she came to pick me up in the office, her eyes
were teary and I was crying because I didn't know how she would react. I was afraid. I
didn't want her to stop loving me and I didn't know if she told my Dad or anything like that.
It was all a big shock. I don't think any principal has the right to out a student to
their parents because they don't know how the family is. They don't know the consequences
of whether or not they'd be supportive or kick them out of the house. It's not right.
Text: The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Charlene to protect her rights.
Charlene: We're all just normal people and I just want to see the discrimination stop.
For more information about my case and others, please visit the Americal Civil Liberties
Union web site. You can also learn how your own story can make a difference.
Text: Learn more. Do more. www.aclu.org/lgbt. Charlene: The ACLU. It stands for American
liberties.