I loved my high school experience. I know I can sometimes be in the minority when I say that but, it’s true. I have always been proud of having gone to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL, with a focus in theater. It’s a place that I cite for teaching me the value of storytelling. It taught me the power of theater and what can happen when we use theater to fight against hate. My peers and I were encouraged by our teachers to be bold and use our art to push against the powers that be, stand up for what’s right, and, most importantly, extinguish hate in all its forms. We told daring stories that included Lee Blessing’s play, Patient A, a play chronicling the experience of Kim Bergalis and the first-known instance of HIV transmission from a health-worker to a patient. There was a student directed, student organized production titled Safe Sex, that consisted of three one-acts surrounding characters living with AIDS, with ticket sales being donated to AIDS organizations. And, perhaps most memorably, there was a production of The Laramie Project, telling the story of the hate crime that led to the tragic death of Matthew Shepard at the age of 21, that I had the honor to be a part of.

As has happened with many productions of Laramie, there were protests and calls from the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. There were news crews and all eyes on how our school would handle it. Would we cancel? Would we be shut down? It was a difficult situation, with both the physical and emotional safety of young people at its center. In the end, we did what we were taught to do: Fight against hate, protect each other, and tell the story. We completed the run without interruption, despite all the barriers put in our way, because we refused to be bullied by people fueled by hate. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of many productions I’ve been proud of since then, but I’m by far the proudest of what myself and my fellow students were able to do by persevering and telling that story. Which is why I was so saddened to read the news that the upcoming production of Paula Vogel’s incredible play, Indecent, had been cancelled and deemed “inappropriate” for the students to perform, despite the play being performed across the country by several high schools in the past.

It's clear to me that the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation factored into this decision making, though the school board would have us believe otherwise. People like Ron DeSantis are not new, nor is the hate they spew. The school board’s decision is also not new and, though I’m not surprised, what’s heartbreakingly ironic is the fact that the cancellation of this production is the product of bullying, censorship, and suppression, when the show’s themes center around exactly that. I’m also not surprised by any attempt to limit the kind of material students have access to. When I was in school, there was a massive textbook that consisted of some of the most seminal plays in the American Theater. We were told we could read any of the plays in that book we wanted, except one. The masterpiece, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner was not to be read. It was “not appropriate” for us at our young age.

I’m about 98% sure my teacher told us that because they understood one thing: The more you try to keep something away from teenagers, the more they run toward it. And that’s exactly what happened. I devoured that play in one sitting. I’m not even sure I took a breath while

reading. I gobbled it up and learned something about the world I was in. The country I was in. And with the small, rebellious action of reading that play, I became a more empathetic, emotionally intelligent person. Because I saw myself within those pages and learned that some of the most valuable, transformative stories are threatening to some people, and they will try to keep them from you. The task for the student is to keep searching. The job of the teacher is to aid them as best they can in that search.

The situation the students and teachers at Douglas Anderson are facing is not new, nor will this be the last time they are faced with something like this. There will always be bullies hoping to hide us from ourselves. What I’m asking us to do is to remember what our job is. As artists, as students, as teachers. To be bold and use our art to push against the powers that be, stand up for what’s right, and, most importantly, extinguish hate in all its forms.