Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Come Out, Stay Out, Stand Out: Eight Stories Of Gay And Lesbian High School Students, Nicholas J. Pace

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Existing research, though limited, portrays a bleak picture for gay and lesbian students. The majority of the literature is of a quantitative nature and often reveals many challenges for gay.and lesbian students, including verbal and physical harassment, low self-esteem, poor grades, and a particularly high risk of suicide, among other dangers. As a result, many gay and lesbian students remain "in the closet."

In 2000 a scholarship was established in honor of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was the victim of an anti-gay murder. The Matthew Shepard Scholarship is a privately-funded award given annually to openly gay …