Posted on: Thursday, July 10, 2003

Kalaheo graduates honored by ACLU

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Two Kalaheo High School graduates who started the first Gay Straight Alliance in a Hawai'i public school have won the Youth Award from the American Civil Liberties Union for promoting awareness of civil liberties.

Shealea Tindall and Maile Shay-Mountain will share a $1,000 cash award and will be recognized Saturday in a ceremony at the state Supreme Court.

ACLU executive director Vanessa Chong said Tindall and Shay-Mountain were selected for their more than yearlong effort to start the Gay Straight Alliance at Kalaheo and have it recognized as a school "curricular club" over the objection of the school administration.

"When you are a teenager, to take on the school environment is a scary thing to do," Chong said. "It is such a daunting task for a young person to overcome. It took exceptional courage to come forward to make things right for people who don't feel comfortable in their school environment."

Tindall and Shay-Mountain worked for a year with school officials to get the Gay Straight Alliance recognized as a curricular club. The school denied them "chartered" status which was granted to other student clubs. The status entitles a club to a faculty adviser, bank account and the right to raise money on campus, Chong said.

"We wanted to be able to raise money and do all of these things that other clubs do," Shay-Mountain said. "To me it was a usual thing. When there was a problem with it we didn't understand."

In oder to get a group started, Shay-Mountain and Tindall initially accepted the status as a noncurricular club, but continued asking for the curricular status.

Shay-Mountain, who will attend the University of Hawai'i-Manoa in the fall, said members marched in the Gay Pride Parade, celebrated National Coming Out Day and tried to educate other students about gay rights issues. In weekly meetings, members often just talked and supported each other.

"We knew we had family support but we weren't sure about the school or the community," Shay-Mountain said. "It turned out that there was very few people who said bad things about us."

But when the club's curricular status was denied again, the two contacted the ACLU, which threatened to sue and helped the Gay Straight Alliance gain the same status as other student clubs.

Chief Justice Ronald Moon will make the presentation to Shay-Mountain and Tindall and will also recognize finalists Ian Tapu of Kahuku High School and Jennifer Jung of Moanalua High School. Tapu started projects at his school to raise awareness about the political process and current issues. Jung took part in the Hawai'i State Student Council, participated in the Secondary Student Conference, lobbied for student-supported bills in the Legislature and worked as a legislative aide to Rep. Mark Takai. She also worked on voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives for students and their parents.

The ACLU Youth Award was created this year to recognize the efforts of students who demonstrate a strong commitment to civil liberties. Candidates were nominated by teachers, counselors, or community groups and judged on the strength and depth of their contributions to civil liberties and the rights of young people, and the obstacles they had to overcome in their work.