It is with great sadness that I write you today. An eleven-year-old child has died by his own hand. This young boy is the fifth child this year to find the pressures of bullying unbearable. This young boy was bullied for months with anti-gay taunts, and that is unacceptable. This young man loved to dance, loved to laugh and wanted to make friends but he only found enemies.

This letter does not serve to promote the acceptance of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual individuals, but rather to implore you to embrace each individual for the beauty they are.

Viktor Frankl wrote in “A Man’s Search for Meaning” that “A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining.” In his book, Frankl discusses that the meaning of life changes hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute. I ask you, what shall the meaning of your life be today? How will you determine yourself? I asked myself for some time who was responsible for this young man’s fate since he had no time to determine it himself.

Then, it hit me. I am responsible. You are responsible. We are responsible. By remaining silent about the atrocities we see or choose to ignore each day, we lead to the death of these children. In our silence and our wrong action, we tell our children that it is okay to treat those different from us as less than human.

Silence kills. Silence was just as responsible for these deaths, as was bullying.

Somewhere in this country there are mothers who have lost their babies — far more than the papers care to mention — mothers who battled the silence only to be silenced themselves.

Every person is beautiful and has something to offer, no matter how small it may seem. Diversity is not just a class one takes to satisfy credit. Diversity is a life skill — it is a celebration of life. It does not mean black and white, gay or straight. We must celebrate each person for the vibrant and multifaceted individual they are. We must open our hearts to each person, no matter how difficult it may be, for we do not know what they are experiencing or how they have determined themselves on that day. Perhaps if our children participate in this celebration the bullying will lessen and eventually disappear.

The question is: How will you determine yourself? Teach your children well, for we are the past and they are the future. No one should be bullied. No more should be allowed to die.

Mike Aguilar

Sophomore

Psychology