It is encouraging to hear that gay students at Central Kitsap High School have taken it on themselves to constructively counter bullying.

For the past month, the students have been working to bring a speaker from a resource center for gay teens to school to give a presentation.

It demonstrates maturity. It shows they are reaching out to other students, gay and straight, who may blame themselves for being under the thumb of a bully, and who, ironically but unsurprisingly, may feel bullied by someone else.

Above all, it shows they care about what happens in their school. It shows they have taken ownership, they aren’t content to bide their time and try to endure the abuse.

In addition to the students, the Gay Straight Alliance advisor, Susan Wachtman, is to be commended for fighting for those students who may have felt their fear was acceptable to those in charge of the school and district.

In reporter Kristin Okinaka’s story this week, a student sets the tone by stating, flatly, that he gets called “faggot” in the halls about once a week.

This kind of intimidation runs counter to the mission of any school and it is incumbent upon the adults, those charged with protecting the educational environment, to clear a path for the presentation.