LGBTQ+ 'Safe Zone' Sticker Draws Questions Of Long Valley School Board

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Members of the public spoke candidly at the Washington Township Board of Education meeting this past Wednesday, sharing their thoughts on the "Safe Zone" stickers that are posted around the Long Valley Middle School.

The stickers, which depict a rainbow triangle and text reading "Safe Zone," are being used among school administrators to indicate that their classrooms or offices are a space for all students to feel welcome in.

Many parents and one middle school student spoke up to express their opinions on whether the stickers should be kept in place, citing various justifications for why the stickers are beneficial or exclusionary.

According to Washington Township Schools Superintendent Peter Turnamian, the stickers were developed by middle school students as a way to ensure that LGBTQ+ students felt safe within the school.

"It was not a board approved policy or initiative. It was approved at the local school level, it was done in conjunction with student leaders who were, in response to what we're learning more and more over the last several years through robust studies, is that the LGBTQ community is more at risk, in some cases four times at risk, of self harm," Turnamian said.

While various parents spoke out on both sides, the one recurring theme among those in opposition of the sticker was the idea that the depiction of the rainbow was in fact more divisive than inclusionary.

Michael Cardillo, a Long Valley resident, said, "I want to understand why the board would choose such a specific symbol that not everybody identifies with. Why can't it be a symbol of a Wolfpack… Everybody identifies with our school mascot. I Just think that it is inappropriate to have a specific symbol for certain people."

In response to the claim that the rainbows on the triangle are dividing the students further, local teacher Colleen Lindert said that the image of a rainbow does not inherently mean it only applies to LGBTQ students.

"My concern is what's next? Are you coming for me next because I have rainbows? It's a rainbow, that says safe zone. It does not say LGBTQ, it says nothing else of the sort. It's a rainbow that says safe zone and if that makes a student feel safe and secure I don't understand the problem with it," Lindert said.

The meeting went on for more than two hours, with commentators on both sides keeping the conversation and their comments respectful, which the board commended at the end of the session.

Amongst the group of adults speaking, voicing their opinion on the matter, one Long Valley Middle School student went before the mic, expressing her thoughts.

The young student, named Rose, was applauded by not only the audience, but also Superintendent Turnamian for having the courage to speak up. "I go to Long Valley Middle School, and as a lesbian and gender queer individual, I can say the LGBTQ+ community is constantly bullied and belittled in our school system. The safe zone rainbow stickers let kids like me know that they are not alone despite their differences. The signs are not hurting anybody, and they are not imprinting on your children. They only promote love and accepting yourself for the way you are," Rose said.

During public comment, a statistic from the Trevor Project's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health revealed that 45% of LGBTQ youth—including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth—seriously considered trying to commit suicide in the previous year.

In addition, according to research by the Trevor Project, 52% of LGBTQ students in middle and high schools who reported being bullied in person or online in the previous year had a threefold higher likelihood of having attempted suicide.

The future of the "Safe Zone" stickers was not decided by the end of the meeting; however, officials have stated that the stickers are not mandated and that putting them up is left up to the discretion of each teacher at the middle school.