Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin school district is essentially run by evangelicals. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann exercises an extreme influence over the workings of the school district while religious and conservative groups fight to silence LGBT students and teachers - factors that arguably contribute to the district’s absurdly high suicide rate.

Nine students in this school district took their own lives in under two years, many having been bullied for being gay or being perceived as gay. When students and parents complained about bullies, school officials turned the other cheek or told them it wasn’t so bad. Hundreds of students were hospitalized for suicidal ideation or other mental health concerns. 

This Rolling Stone article about Anoka-Hennepin’s problem with teen suicide is extremely depressing, but it’s also extremely important. In a couple of pages, the author perfectly captures the ways in which extreme religious influence and administrator indifference can mess with kids. Ignoring bullying is not okay. Pretending homosexuality doesn’t exist is not okay. And these kids have realized it. 

The story has far from a happy ending because as you all know, we’re still deep into a crisis of LGBT youth suicides across the country. But more and more students are becoming aware of their administrators’ uselessness and fighting back on their own, with student-run GSAs and other ways of supporting each other. 

Reading this article - all the way through - made me cry, made me angry, but most importantly made me want to fight back. It’s stories like this that remind me why we’re in this fight. Each and every one of us is important and deserves to go to school without being harassed, even if each and every school district doesn’t see it. 

Side note: if you’re thinking of suicide or just need someone to talk to, please please please call The Trevor Project’s lifeline at 866-488-7386.