Google “Gabe Aderhold” and you will not only see his Twitter name, @SassyGabe, but also a seeminlgy endless list of articles about Aderhold’s sassy remarks toward Michelle Bachmann at the Iowa Caucauses on August 12, and how this Edina High School senior made national news standing up for gay rights.
As Aderhold recalled, “I was at the Iowa State Fair with a friend, and we decided to interact with the candidates. I got to ask Tim Pawlenty questions about equality, and I knew Bachmann was coming. So, I decided to stick around. When she arrived, I tried asking her some questions but she wasn’t taking any questions. It was my last chance to say something to her, so I yelled out about how she treated people like second-class citizens.”
According to The Huffington Post website, Aderhold was one of the reasons that the Bachmanns left as quickly as they did. Gabe didn’t stop there. “Last week I went to the Bachmann offices to deliver petitions to denounce anti-gay bullying in Bachmann’s district,” he said.
Bachmann’s district, which includes the Anoka-Hennepin School District, has encountered six teen suicides in the past year allegedly caused as a result of bullying.
When asked how our own district compares, Aderhold said, “I believe the school does everything that it can. Teachers at Edina are aware of issues, which doesn’t happen at every school. In terms of students, everyone tolerates GLBT students, and we haven’t encountered any threats. The last school I went to was Southwest, and Edina’s policies are just as good, if not better.” According to Youth Serving Youth coordinator Rachel Greiner, the Edina community is very supportive, of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) group. GSA, according to its literature is a “student initiated/student lead group that works to support students who are GLBT, combat homophobia and educate on equal right acceptance and tolerance.”
Greater awareness for GLBT rights is important because next year there will be a proposed federal marriage ammendment, one which would limit marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman.
“I think that we should have more days of action other than the Day of Silence, in which the high school has to be completely silent for the entire day,” Gabe said. “There is tentative date in October called Stand Up Speak Out which stands up against bullying. It’s a lot easier than the Day of Silence. Even I think it’s hard to be completely silent for the entire day!”
“Everyone deserves the same rights, and though this may be a bit cliché, without struggle there is no progress,” said Greiner.
