By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:18pm
Today is National Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Day, a day to “strengthen the bond between LGBT people and straight allies” by recognizing the critical role that GSAs play in schools nationwide. GSAs are student-run extracurricular clubs that bring together LGBT and straight students to support each other, promote acceptance and are common in public school districts throughout the nation. They are crucial to providing a safe, supportive environment for LGBT students to educate the school community about homophobia, gender identity and sexual orientation issues.
Want to help youth sustain their mental health, stay in school, and go to college? According to a new study by the Family Acceptance Project, you can do all of those things by starting a Gay-Straight Alliance at your high school! And here at the ACLU, we’ve prepared a guide to help you do it.
Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) are school clubs that work to create safe spaces for students to learn about and respond to homophobia, transphobia, and other types of oppression. They also promote camaraderie and understanding between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight students. After surveying over 200 young adults, the Family Acceptance Project concluded that GSAs, and the solidarity they encourage, can provide mental health and educational benefits for the LGBT students involved. For a group with a high risk of bullying, depression, and suicide, those sorts of benefits are huge.
We've put together a step-by-step video that guides you through starting a GSA, from explaining why you want a club, to things to do when you start meeting.
