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Filmmakers speak at an AAPI heritage month screening of their Emmy-winning short film “Three Boys Manzanar.”
What does the upcoming Barbie movie need to get right to rectify the Mattel doll's harmful impacts on young girls’ body image?
Eight faculty/staff members are departing this year. Hear about their favorite Nueva memories, what they’ll miss, and where they’re headed to next.
Graduating editors Serena S. ’23 and Isabelle S. ’23 pay homage to their years at Nueva—13 and four years, respectively.
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NUEVA CURRENT THE NUEVA SCHOOL, SAN MATEO, CA 94403
6/8/2023
THE
INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: @THENUEVACURRENT
ISSUE SIX
VOLUME 6
Loud and Proud
As anti-LGBTQ legislation spreads across the nation, Nueva’s new Gender Inclusion Policy aims to solidify a network of student and faculty support STORY PHOTOS
Owen Y-L. & Char P. While anti-LGBTQ sentiment throughout Rachel Freeman, WUWF, The the country has simmered for decades, New York Times, Freepik legislation targeting the community has COLLAGE Owen Y-L. ramped up in recent years. The American
I. THE LEGISLATION They come from Florida. Kansas. Texas. Virginia. They are full of hate, politically charged, and incredibly damaging to queer people. They are pieces of legislation—statewide bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors and even adults, prohibit trans people from using affirming bathrooms and playing on affirming sports teams, block queer content from being taught in schools, and more.
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reported at least 417 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced at the state level this year, more than twice the amount in 2022. Two hundred and eightythree of those bills target education, such as Florida’s 2022 “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits instruction about gender and sexuality in classrooms from kindergarten to 12th grade. Lead Upper School Counselor and Queer Student Union (QSU) faculty co-advisor Aviva Jacobstein, who identifies as queer, was “unsurprised” at the recent proliferation of anti-LGBTQ laws.
“Anytime a group of people in an oppressed state come together to demand equality and change, there is often a backlash movement from those in power who don't want to give up their power,” said Jacobstein, who drew a similarity to the civil rights and women’s rights movements. “For whatever reason, conservatives right now have fixated on trans rights and gender inclusion.” LGBTQ youth are already at higher risk for suicide or mental health issues, said Jacobstein, who has worked as a clinical social worker for over 10 years with a specialty in queer youth. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, high school students who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are more than four times as
likely to have attempted suicide compared to those who are heterosexual. The new wave of national anti-LGBTQ sentiment could exacerbate this disparity and create an “unnecessary recipe for disaster,” according to Jacobstein. “Like any marginalized identity category, you’re more likely to be met with resistance in your life,” she said. “It’s a snowball effect.” For many, the bans on teaching queer topics in classrooms—such as “Don’t Say Gay”—are the most damaging. “If teachers can’t talk about [these topics], isn’t that a violation of free speech?” Charlie V. H. ’23 said. “It’s harmful to
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