Local Community Mourns Carl Walker-Hoover
Apr 17, 2009
On April 17, 2009, GLSEN Connecticut in co-sponsorship with United Church on the Green in New Haven, commemorated the life of eleven year old Carl Walker Hoover with a memorial rally and march around the New Haven Green. Carl, a sixth grader in Springfield, MA, tragically took his life after enduring months and months of bullying in school. Though Carl did not identify as gay, he was constantly subjected to anti-gay taunts by his peers. Over one hundred people came together to remember this young man and to speak out against bullying and harassment in schools. Reverend John Gage of United Church on the Green emceed the event. Speakers included State Representative Michael P. Lawlor, GLSEN Connecticut Co-Chairs Leif Mitchell and Alberto Cifuentes, Jr., school administrator Patricia Nicolari, student Layne Gianakos, teacher Jeff Bianco, and parent Joy Lenters. The rally was a cry for an end to bullying and harassment of youth in schools regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
According to the GLSEN 2007 School Climate Survey nearly 9 out of 10 of the 6,209 middle and high school students surveyed experienced harassment at school. Carl’s death was the fourth such incident this year related to anti-gay bullying in school. The other three known cases of suicide among middle school students took place in Chatham, Evanston and Chicago, IL in the month of February. Carl would have turned twelve on the seventeenth. In order to address issues of bullying in school, GLSEN is sponsoring a Think Before You Speak Campaign. For more information please go to www.thinkb4youspeak.com. 
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