Triple Minority Takes on School

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

February 09 2010 4:25 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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He may be gay, biracial, and mentally challenged, but he's no wallflower -- Benjamin Grundy has finally achieved his dream of being a cheerleader at Garfield-Palouse High School in Palouse, Wash., but he and his mother say the school made his life very difficult.

Grundy and his mother, Suzanne, charge that school officials discouraged the teen from cheering with the girls, believing the high school's students wouldn't accept it. Grundy was asked if he wanted to be a mascot, but he insisted on cheering.

The student was recently given pom-poms and an official uniform, but both he and his mother believe school officials need to undergo sensitivity training.

Read the full story here.