Hello Everyone,

I am creating this petition as an alumni of Olentangy Orange High School, an older sibling to a current OLSD student, and someone who is concerned with the direction the district is headed. It was brought to my attention that recently, the OLSD superintendent Mark Raiff has decided to no longer allow students to use their chosen pronouns and names. LGBTQIA+ youth already face harassment and bullying from their peers simply for being themselves, now the school district is sending the message that they do not care about these students or their rights. Requiring your faculty to refer to students by their legal names and pronouns is not only discriminatory towards these children, but will also heavily contribute to a decline in their mental health. OLSD already has a history of racial discrimination, this was brought to light via social media a year ago, they took the time to carefully rebrand but clearly the principle of the matter remains the same. I ask you… fellow alumni, parents, students, and guardians: Speak up and spread awareness that this is happening in our schools, and help us change that. We need to start prioritizing our students and their mental health and well-being, the first step will be to respect minority children and allow them to use their chosen names and pronouns.

OLSD, Mark Raiff, and the school board, the power to change their lives for the better is in your hands. What will you do with it? 

Thank you.