Who Are Thinking of Starting One
WHAT IS A GAY STRAIGHT ALLIANCE(GSA)??
A GSA (which can also be called a GLBTA (Gay Lesbian Bi Trans
and Allies) or any other acronym that is selected)is a group
of students (mainly at a high school or college) that would like to
counter homophobia or provide a protective shield against it.
The purposes and goals of GSA's across the U.S. vary, but
generally, they are one or more of the following:
to combat homophobia in the school, the community, or insociety.
to spread awareness about what homosexuality really isand about the effects of homophobia and the oppression of
LBGT's in society.
to provide a homophobia-free space and/or means of socializingfor students who are LGBT (or who are supporters)
to provide a forum for speaking about LGBT-related issues andconcerns.
WHY IS A GSA IMPORTANT?
Closeted LGBT students at your school, upon knowing of theexistence of a GSA, will feel less isolated and thus would be
less prone to commit suicide or become depressed.
An active GSA could promote social change. The general student body (and teachers) would be less likely to think of homosexuality as mysterious and taboo,
and less likely to harass [allegedly] gay students.
Promoting awareness is key in fighting ignorance.
HOW DO I START ONE AT MY SCHOOL?
(This advice goes mainly for HS students)
The level of difficulty in starting a GSA at your school can
vary, depending on the level of openmindedness of the student
body, the parents of the community, the faculty, and the
administration. Especially of the administration. (from my
experiences)
(1) The first step would be to read up on your own school/county's
procedures for starting a club. Usually, this involves enlisting
the sponsorship of a faculty member. Brainstorm a list of
teachers to ask. In particular, if you have the help and support
of a well-established and well-liked teacher, the journey will be
much much easier. If you know that convincing your administrator
will be hard, then it's best to get the support of a teacher who
is willing to speak with the principal him/her-self. (But it's
good to remember that showing responsibility yourself will
demonstrate how serious you are about it.)
(2) After being well-prepared with reasons for starting a GSA and
counter-arguments for your principal's possible apprehensions,
as well as with the name (or presence) of your sponsor, make an
appointment to meet personally with your principal (or whosever
approval you're supposed to receive). If the principal pisses
you off, just keep your cool, act polite, but be insistent.
Don't let her/him off the hook. Remind her/him of the Equal
Access Law (which basically enables students with the right to
start a club). It also helps to have the backing of a local
gay newspaper and/or of your local GLSEN or Lambda chapter.
That way, you can let the principal know (without threatening)
that you have their support (which implicitly means that
(s)he will be in big trouble if (s)he bars you from starting
it). Me and my co-founder also presented a petition signed by
students and teachers who supported the founding of a GSA.
SO I'VE GOTTEN APPROVAL...NOW WHAT??
(1) Set up and advertise a first meeting! Get supportive
friends to come. You could maybe invite even supportive
teachers, counselors, and administrators. It would help
to come prepared with an agenda. I usually typed and
photocopied a meeting agenda and passed it out to people
who came and to my sponsor. That way, people who come and
leave can still know what went on after they left, and the
dates for important events and future meetings will be
conveniently on paper for them. If you're so anally organized
as to do this agenda-thing, ask your sponsor to keep a few
copies in his/her desk or in an envelope on his/her door so
that students who are curiousor who miss the meetings can
see what they're about. Also, it'd be a good idea to let
your local gay paper know about the foundation of your club.
It creates inspiration among students of your area who go
to other schools, and it disables your administrators
from being able to back out.
(2) At the first meeting (or perhaps at the first few),
clearly explain the exact purpose of this GSA. Unless
you decide to be the GSA's leader/chairperson as a default
for starting it, you could set a date for elections or just
get volunteers to help out. It is useful to even have people
who are willing to just make and/or post signs, get the meeting
announcements on your school's televised/intercom announcements,
make photocopies, and other small yet important tasks. I strongly
recommend that you set an anonymity rule to all who come to
meetings--that is, the names of those who come to meetings are
not to be mentioned to people outside the meetings. This serves
to protect people (especially closeted ones, but really anyone)
from being bashed in some way or another by peers/classmates/
teachers.
(3) Brainstorm activities with fellow club leaders and/or
people who come to meetings. Here are a few ideas:
Attend workshops on pertinent topics. You may be able to find out about ones going on in your area by
getting on the email list of a local GLSEN chapter or searching
the internet.
Bring workshops to meetings. For certain workshops, you could invite teachers and counselors to participate.
Have speakers come to meetings. Attend local events, such as Pride, rallies (e.g. Unity Above Hate), protests, etc.
Go to see (or rent) good LGBT indie films. Discuss them at a later meeting.
Hold a rally, information session, or information booth in your school to spread awareness to everyone
at your school.
Hold a teacher/counselor information/training session so that teachers and counselors at your school know how
to deal with homophobic actions/words in the classroom and so
that they know how to respond if a student comes out to them.
Participate in the Day of Silence, and enlist the participation of students outside the club as well as inside it.
Find out about meetings being held by your local gay organization chapters (GLSEN, Lambda, etc.). Ask if
you and/or a few other representatives of your club can attend in
order to learn more and to provide input.
For more info, go to the GLSEN Site
Was this advice helpful?
Do you have more to add?
Questions? Let me know!
kawai_panda@hotmail.com
Jennifer Wang and Kristin Haeger co-founded the first
Gay Straight Alliance at Lakeside High School in Atlanta, GA
in 1999.
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