By ELSY BARCELO AND ROBERT TAPIA.

Many students were in shock when they heard that a GLIDE (Gay and Lesbians Initiating a Dialogue for Equality) speaker, Jake Finney, announced his natural born gender in an assembly.

“The doctor told my mom that she had a beautiful baby girl,” Finney said. “But, at the age of four, I felt myself as a boy.”

Students gathered in the Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) on Nov. 15 for a presentation that discussed the consequences and causes of bullying due to sexual orientation.

GLIDE was invited to DPMHS because bullying at the school has been centered mainly among the student’s sexual orientation according to the “What’s going on at my school?” survey.

The survey was handed out to the students in October.

This presentation was set up by the school’s Gay Straight Alliance to stop the problem in its tracks.

The assembly was held at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) to make it easier for teens to speak out about their sexual orientation.

The assembly was scheduled to take place every period, although different speakers were assigned different periods.

Each speaker had their own hardship they went through and expressed it through a touching story.

Arnold Pomerantz, another GLIDE speaker, had his first female crush at the age of four. However, when she moved out of her apartment, a male moved in. Pomerantz began to develop feelings for him and, throughout his life, thought that it was bad to have these feelings for a male.

“When they told us their stories

I felt happy that they could do what they felt they had to do,” said junior Jasper Harris. “I feel that anyone has the right to love anyone they want and they can do anything they want to their bodies, as long as it does not affect me. It was interesting to see how other people could barely handle what was being said, though.”

Some students handled the concepts discussed in the assembly well and applied their own opinions to topics that were brought up.

“They were just regular people telling their stories,” said sophomore Kimberly Chaleco. “Just because you’re gay, it shouldn’t  matter. You’re like anybody else.”

Students found the presentation helpful and encouraging. The GLIDE foundation doesn’t want people to be homophobic because it’s not right to leave other students out of the loop due to their preferences.

“(Finney) is a perfect example. . . his story helped others and myself understand that you can’t be judged, no matter how different you are,” junior Jazmin Brenes said.