'Anti-Gay Day' Students Made 'Lynch List,' Hung Noose

By Jamilah King | Takepart.com 21 hours ago Takepart.com

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'Anti-Gay Day' Students Made 'Lynch List,' Hung Noose

A group of students at a suburban Pittsburgh high school have made national headlines for organizing an "Anti-Gay Day." The event happened last Thursday in response to other students at McGuffey High School observing a Day of Silence for dead lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. The students who organized the Anti-Gay Day wore matching flannel shirts, wrote "anti-gay" on their
hands, and reportedly hung homophobic posters on LGBT students' lockers. Arguably more disturbing: They passed out a "lynch list" of students who participated in the Day of Silence, and tied a noose to a flag in a classroom, according to BuzzFeed. 

One student recalled the scene to local reporters. "Yesterday, there was pushing, posters hung on homosexual students' lockers," Zoe Johnson, a bisexual student at McGuffey, told news reporters on Friday. "Teachers were having to run out and take them down." Johnson also said the so-called anti-gay students uploaded Bible verses to social media and tagged their LGBT classmates.

The Day of Silence was organized with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. Johnson estimated that between 30 and 50 students participated. Kathy Cameron, chair of the board of directors of the Washington County, Pennsylvania, Gay Straight Alliance, told BuzzFeed that the Day of Silence was a touching event. "They had a very silent, respectful day of action," Cameron said. "And then they came to school on Thursday to an organized backlash." She added: "The instigators, the bullies, seemed very proud of their efforts, and posted many smiling pictures online."

School district superintendent Erica Kolat on Monday said McGuffey was "committed to providing a safe, supportive environment for all children." Kolat also said that no witnesses had supported the account of the "lynch list," but she encouraged anyone with information to come forward.
Also on Monday, supporters rallied in support of LGBT students at the school.