Hillsboro High School, Ohio.
A group of students at Hillsboro High School in Ohio was crushed when they heard the school play they had been working on was canceled because there were complaints about a gay character.
However, instead of taking the news lying down, they banded together to perform it at a community theater instead.
The students at Hillsboro were working on a production of "She Kills Monsters." It's the story of a high school senior who loses her sister in an accident. She then embarks on a journey to discover who her sister really was through the Dungeons and Dragons campaign she wrote.
In the play, it's implied that the main character's sister is gay.
"We're all excited," student Christopher Cronan told WCPO. "We really wanted to do this, and when we heard it was going to be canceled we were devastated, and the overwhelming support from even outside of the state is great."
The inclusion of a gay character in the school play led to a parent meeting where questions were raised about its sexual content. The theater students believe that the play was ultimately canceled due to the prodding of Jeff Lyle, an influential local pastor.
Via email, Lyle told WCPO that he was in favor of canceling the play but never spoke to the school board. Lyle said the play is "inappropriate for a number of reasons" that conflict with his personal religious beliefs, including implied sexual activity between unmarried people, foul language and innuendo.
The Hillsboro City Schools released a statement on October 25 that attributed the show's cancellation to the play's "use of inappropriate language, profanity, homophobic slurs, sexual innuendos and graphic violence."
Laura Pickering-Polstra, a parent of one of the theater students, refuted the district's statement by saying, "To set the record straight, the homophobic slurs had already been removed from the script by the directors before the Oct 18th parent meeting, which I attended. The sword-fighting wasn't 'graphic violence.' It's stage combat, not actual bloodshed."
After the play was officially canceled, the students didn't back down. Instead, they announced they would perform the show at a local theater where they won't be censored. The one problem was that they didn't have any funding for the project, so they set up a GoFundMe campaign with the modest goal of $5,000.
"While the play is no longer sponsored by the school, we are planning to perform the show in the summertime as a community theatre project with a different venue," the organizers wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Without the show being sponsored by the school, though, we have no funds to produce it, which is why we need your help!"
Jake Zora, who has over 480,000 followers on TikTok, posted a link to the GoFundMe campaign. The video has received more than 315,000 views.
Hi gay 👋 We need your help today #gaytiktok #gay #lgbt #lgbtq #theater #school #drama
@jakezora Visit TikTok to discover videos!
In just 10 days, the campaign has raised over $22,000, more than enough to stage the play. The students are looking to use the leftover money to start a trust to create a nonprofit theater group for young people in the Hillsboro community.
Pickering-Polstra thanked everyone who participated in the GoFundMe with a post on the site.
"I wanted to take a moment to tell you all how much your support, love, and encouragement have meant to all of Hillsboro's theatre kids," she wrote. "This week has been a roller coaster of emotions, but, thanks to you, no one will be silencing these amazing human beings."
- Amid backlash, Target still launched its annual LGBTQ pride line ... ›
- Burger King trolls Chick-Fil-A for Pride Month. - Upworthy ›
- Bea Arthur gave big to homeless LGBTQ youth in her will. This is ... ›
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."