| Gay–Straight Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Location | United States of America |
| Established | 1988 at Concord Academy |
| Membership | At least 4000 chapters[1] |
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and their straight allies (LGBTA).
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The goal of most, if not all, gay–straight alliances is to make their school community safe and welcoming to all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. They participate in national campaigns to raise awareness, such as the Day of Silence, National Coming Out Day, No Name Calling Week, or locally organized Campaigns . Many GSAs work with local chapters of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, commonly called GLSEN or a state based organization such as GSA Network. The registered number of GSAs to GLSEN is over 4000, as of 2008.[1] In California alone over 762 GSAs [2] are registered, representing more than 50% of California's High Schools. Over half the states in the USA have one or more statewide groups that work with GSAs. Many of these state based groups and local chapters of GLSEN participate in the National Association of GSA Networks. GSA Networks have been formed to help local area students to network and connect to local resources, provide training for youth leaders, and sponsor local GSA efforts.
Some GSAs change their name to place less emphasis on the word "gay," resulting in alternatives such as "Project Rainbow," "Pride Alliance," "Common Ground," "Coexist", "Spectrum," or even the "Straight-Gay Alliance." There are continued efforts to make GSAs and like programs accepting of a wide range of individuals. The common acronym "LGBT" can include many additional letters including "QQASIP": corresponding to queer, questioning, asexual or allied, straight, intersex and pansexual.
The first GSA was started in 1988, in Concord, Massachusetts at Concord Academy by Kevin Jennings, the creator and head of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network GLSEN. The first public school gay–straight alliance was started at Newton South High School (Newton Centre, Massachusetts) by teacher Robert Parlin.[3]
Some students face opposition from school administrations, elected school boards, or local communities in starting a school GSA. For example, some students at West Carteret High School in Morehead City, North Carolina tried to start a GSA but the Carteret County Board of Education turned it down. In 1999, the Orange Unified School District in Orange County, California voted unanimously to prohibit the formation of a GSA at El Modena High School. The students sued the school board, claiming that their rights under the First Amendment and the 1984 Equal Access Act had been violated. In the first-ever ruling of its kind, Judge David O. Carter of the United States District Court for the Central District of California issued a preliminary injunction ordering the school to allow the GSA to meet.[4]
Worldwide Gay Straight Alliances aren't as popular as they are in the United States but are beginning to take-off slowly. In the UK there has always been more of an emphasis on stand alone Lesbian and Gay Youth 'Groups' that take place outside of the school setting, often funded by the local health authority or education service. The first GSA in the UK was founded by CN Lester at Putney High School for Girls. The Gay–Straight Alliance at Putney High School was not forced to close down at the school itself, but it was forced to remove its website and any links to other gay youth groups, and to restrict its access to students over the age of sixteen. However, another Gay–Straight Alliance was established at President Kennedy School and Community College, Coventry, called There Are No Outsiders and this has been supported by the Headteacher and other members of staff.
Despite this setback CN's efforts were combined with those of gay rights activist David Henry in Manchester and together they formed the Queer Youth Alliance in 1999. The Queer Youth Alliance is now supporting the formation of GSA and related LGBT youth groups all over the UK.
The first GSA in Mexico was begun by a group of students in 2004 at the American School Foundation, a private American school in Mexico City. The GSA was initially opposed by several school board members and a small group of religious conservative parents. But the students fought back and eventually won their right to form the student club. The GSA's co-advisor, Ian K. Macgillivray,[5] wrote [6] several articles detailing his students' experiences, as well as the book, Gay-Straight Alliances: A Handbook for Students, Educators, and Parents (2007, Harrington Park Press).
Beyond a school group the Toronto District School Board has been committed to an unwritten alliance with their students, funding the Triangle Program at OASIS Alternative School, designed for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students who are at risk of dropping out or committing suicide because of harassment in regular schools.
In Saskatchewan, Carlton Comprehensive High School houses one of the first GSA movements in the city of Prince Albert. The first GSA in the city of Saskatoon first met on March 18, 2003 at Mount Royal Collegiate.[7] Since then, GSAs have been established at Nutana, Walter Murray, Evan Hardy, Marion Graham, Bedford Road and Aden Bowman Collegiates. Humboldt Collegiate Institute in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, a school run by both the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division and the (public) Horizon School Division, has also acquired a GSA. The city of North Battleford had their first GSA in 2004 at Sakewew high school,a First Nation high school.
In Ontario, Arnprior District High school, a small rural Ottawa Valley town started a GSA created by the students in 2009. This GSA won one of three Jer's Vision "Youth Role Model of The Year" award in April 2009.[8] The next year a GSA was founded by students in 2010 at Renfrew Collegiate Institute in the town of Renfrew.[9]
In May 2010 Egale Canada launched MyGSA.ca, a website focused on GSAs and their role in making Canadian schools safer and more LGBTQ inclusive. As part of MyGSA.ca's mission the site maintains an online directory of Canadian GSAs and provided resources and information to students who wish to start a GSA in their school and for teachers who wish to support them.[10] In December 2011, the government of the most populous Canadian province, Ontario, announced it would bring a legislation making it mandatory for all publicly funded schools to support the formation of tolerance clubs and student associations. Gay-Straight clubs were to be specifically mentioned in that act. The main focus of that legislation would be to counterattack the spread of bullying and vicious attacks on students, particularly those of racial or sexual minority[11].
The first GSAs were started in the Netherlands in 2009. At the beginning of 2011, a nationwide campaign was started on television to promote GSAs on Dutch schools, featuring several well-known young actors and singers. A number of GSAs already exist on a wide variety of Dutch schools throughout the country, most of them at the university level.
In 2011, Nelson College became the first all-boys college in New Zealand to form a GSA (Gay and straight alliance) support group.[12]
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