According to a 2004 national poll commissioned by GLSEN, approximately 5% of America's high school students identify as lesbian or gay. That's roughly 3/4 million students nationwide.
There are more than 2.5 million gay students under the age of 18 in the USA alone and more than 4 million in the European Union.
There is at least one student in in every American classroom who identifies as lesbian or gay.
Violence, bullying and harassment are the rule and not the exception in America's schools. According to GLSEN's 2003 National School Climate Survey,
· 4 out of 5 LGBT students hear homophobic remarks often in their schools.
· 39% of LGBT students report being verbally or physically assaulted, often with a weapon and transgender students reported physical harassment 30% more than students that identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
· Nearly 1 out of 3 LGBT students skipped school in the past month because they were simply too afraid to go.
What Can You do to Help?
Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) are student-organized and student-led clubs in U.S. public high schools which support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual students in their battles to attain equal rights and treatment. Thousands have been organized in the U.S.
The federal Equal Access Act, requires that schools which have as few as one non-curriculum club must allow the creation of a GSA, even if the school board or principal disagrees with the group's purpose. Otherwise, the school would lose all federal funding.
The first Gay Straight Alliance was started in Europe over a half century ago.
There are over 3500 Gay Straight Alliances in the USA.
Want to start a Gay Straight Alliance? Here's How!
Establish a GSA the same way you would establish any other group or club. Look in your Student Handbook for the rules at your school. This may include getting permission from an administrator, finding an advisor, and/or writing a constitution.
2. Find a Faculty Advisor:
Find a teacher or staff member whom you think would be supportive or who has already shown themselves to be an ally around sexual orientation issues.
3. Inform Administration of Your Plans:
Tell administrators what you are doing right away. If an administrator is resistant to the GSA, let them know that forming a GSA club is protected under the Federal Equal Access Act.
4. Inform Guidance Counselors and Social Workers About The Group:
These individuals may know students who would be interested in attending the group.
5. Pick a Meeting Place:
You may want to find a meeting place which is off the beaten track at school and offers some level of privacy or confidentiality.
6. Advertise:
Figure out the best way to advertise at your school. It may be a combination of school bulletin announcements, flyers, and word-of-mouth. If your flyers are defaced or torn down, do not be discouraged. Keep putting them back up. Eventually, whoever is tearing them down will give up.
7. Get Food:
This one is kind of obvious. People always come to meetings when you provide food!
8. Hold Your Meeting!
You may want to start out with a discussion about why people feel having this group is important. You can also brainstorm things your club would like to do this year.
9. Establish Ground Rules:
Many groups have ground rules in order to insure that group discussions are safe, confidential, and respectful. Many groups have a ground rule that no assumptions or labels are used about a group member's sexual orientation. This can help make straight allies feel comfortable about attending the club.
10. Plan For The Future:
Develop an action plan. Brainstorm activities. Set goals for what you want to work towards. Contact Gay-Straight Alliance Network in order to get connected to all of the other GSAs, get supported, and learn about what else is going on in the community.
Guidelines for Public Schools Regarding Issues of Sexual Orientation
Article Showing Benefits of Gay Straight Alliance in Schools
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Bibliography
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/home/index.html
Jill Oppenheimer & Ashley Petronaci
Montclair State University (Fall 2008)
Created On: September 9, 2008
Updated On: September 15, 2008