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Maintaining and Strengthening GSAs
Feb 05, 2001
Written by Palmer Legare
Due to a number of factors, GSA's can disintegrate shortly after being created. This handout addresses those issues by naming the primary causes and by listing ideas that can combat these issues.
Common problems faced by GSAs
The controversy ends:
Many GSA's experience very high levels of interest when they are originally formed. This usually has to do with the controversy surrounding their subject matter. Whether it is positive or negative, discussion of the GSA and the issues that led to its creation dominate the school. But once this dies down and the school becomes accustomed to the presence of a GSA, students may not feel as motivated to get involved. While it is important to remember that having a GSA become accepted and non-controversial is usually a good thing, this decrease in "adrenaline" must be kept from dropping too low.
Monotony takes over:
Sometime GSA's survive the transition from hot-button issue to established group, and then simply run out of interesting things to do.
Student leaders graduate:
Perhaps the number one problem brought up by GSA's involving continuity is that their most influential students are all Seniors.
Not enough faculty support:
It is especially difficult for students to maintain GSA's with little help from faculty. Although student leadership should be emphasized, faculty support is essential during times when student leaders are especially busy, during changes in student leadership, and for communication with the administration to be effective.
Having only one involved faculty member:
Many schools have only one faculty member involved with their GSA. This leaves the GSA vulnerable to the faculty member being sick, retiring or leaving for another school, or being ignored by students, faculty and administration who dislike the person.
Not having a diverse group of faculty supporters:
Most often, the student membership of a GSA mirrors the involved faculty members. Having a group of faculty that are diverse in gender, sexual orientation and race can add to the size, diversity and stability of a GSA.
GSA membership is limited to a clique: While recruiting friends is often the best way to add to the size of a GSA, it is important not to limit membership to a clique of people that may make others feel uncomfortable joining the group.
GSA's don't work on stability until it's too late:
Many of the above problems are easily avoidable, but only if addressed when the GSA is strong. Too often, GSA's wait until their membership has dwindled to one or two or their faculty advisor has left the school before they think about how to deal with such problems.
Now that the underlying problems have been stated, the next step is to look at the solutions. Because there are so many, they are first listed without explanations, and then a sample of them are listed with explanations.
An incomplete brainstorm of ideas for strengthening & maintaining GSA's:
Make it official… Adopt a Constitution… Create a budget… Have rules for meetings… Have youth lead meetings… Give members responsibilities… Create a paid faculty advisor position… Have an official faculty advisor… Have more than one faculty advisor… Have a diverse group of faculty advisors… Recruit younger members… Sponsor/send members to conferences (especially younger members)… Collaborate with other groups in the school… Collaborate with other groups from other schools… Join Student Pride… Work with Outright Vermont… Sponsor field trips… Do fun fundraisers involving the entire school or community… Work with organizations in the community… Sign on to other groups' Bill of Rights & initiatives… Get involved with National Organizations… Do school surveys about homophobia & awareness… Have a catchy name… Get in the school's Yearbook… Sponsor speakers/workshops at the school… Hold movie nights… Have community interaction… Make cool posters… Create a website… Create a newsletter… Invite community members to special meetings… Have a calendar of events… Have teachers/faculty/school board members sign Bill of Rights… Have "important public figures" attend meetings or support Bill of Rights… Have "macho" public figures attend meetings or support Bill of Rights… Adopt pets… Invite alumni to meetings… Write for the Student Pride YEARBOOK … start a GSA Newsletter … Know your rights… Post your rights… Collaborate with guidance counselors… Have organizations do speaker's training for group members (especially younger members)… Present to classes in the school… Present to other schools… Hold events for other GSA's… Buy buttons/shirts and other paraphernalia… Design a club logo… Have a club mascot… Create buttons/shirts & other paraphernalia with featuring club logo or mascot… Go on field trips… Present to teachers/faculty/school board… Participate in demonstrations/marches… Co-sponsor activities with other groups… Write and perform plays… Outreach to lower grades…
Adopt a Constitution -
A constitution, or at least a mission statement, can help a GSA be more efficient. It also helps make annual transitions easier by listing the ways that a GSA operates. Constitutions can be useful when members of the community question the purpose of the club.
Create a budget- Having a budget can help motivate GSA members to plan fund raisers, and do something with the money once they earn it. If there is money left over at the end of the year, it can be used to draw members in the following year. A budget can also help a GSA appear more legitimate to outsiders.
Have youth lead meetings -
Youth leadership is essential to the success of a GSA. Having younger members facilitate meetings will make them feel more comfortable in leadership positions when they are seniors.
Give members responsibilities -
Giving members specific responsibilities or assigning members to different committees can give them a further sense of "ownership" of the club. It also can help younger students develop the leadership and organizational skills they may need when they are the club's elders.
Sponsor/send members to conferences (especially younger members)-
Sending GSA members to conferences can help build their leadership skills, make the group more aware of what other schools' groups are doing, and create communication between different schools' groups.
Sign up with GLSEN's Student Organizing Department!-
Student Organizing, a department of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is a network of over 800 GSA's throughout the United States. They provide numerous resources, including a large GSA list-serve where young people can chat with others around the country about their GSA.
Organize with others -
Work with local organizations like GLSEN Chapters, PFLAGs, LGBT Youth Groups or Youth Service Centers. Share a project, organize on an issue or join in a campaign. Networking with other groups, both in your local community and in your school, can build great relationships that will help you with your own group.
Do fun fundraisers involving the entire school or community -
While fund raisers targeting GSA-supportive people are often easier, fund raisers that target the entire school or community often help secure a GSA's spot within a school. 50-50 raffles or free-throw shooting contests are often ways to involve people who might not ordinarily get involved.
Get in the school's Yearbook -
If group members feel comfortable with it, a GSA club photo in the yearbook can help cement a group's position in the school.
Have a calendar of events -
By planning events in advance and publicizing them, more people will probably get involved. Participating in annual events such as the Day of Silence give groups stability and guarantee that there will always be something to organize for.
Have teachers/faculty/school board members sign Bill of Rights -
Some groups have asked all of the school's faculty members to sign a Bill of Rights stating that all students should be treated equally no matter what their sexual orientation is. This can raise general faculty awareness and support of a GSA. It also helps faculty members become more comfortable with the issue.
Have "important public figures" attend meetings or support Bill of Rights -
Inviting town officials and religious leaders can go a long way in ending stigmas and stereotypes.
Have "macho" public figures attend meetings or support Bill of Rights -
Although this may sound trivial, having athletic coaches show their support of a GSA can make many students feel comfortable showing theirs.
Adopt pets -
Not only do pets give club members something else to do, but they give people who feel uncomfortable going to meeting an excuse to check them out.
Collaborate with guidance counselors -
Having open lines of communication with school counselors is especially important because students who are afraid of approaching the GSA often come out to them or express curiosity to them.
Have local organizations do speaker's training for group members (especially younger members)-
Speaker's trainings not only give groups the ability to speak to classes at the school and to other schools, but they give younger members valuable leadership skills.
Hold events for other GSA's -
Inviting GSA's from other schools to movie nights, coffee houses and similar events increases communication and gives groups a chance to share ideas and experiences.
Create buttons/shirts & other paraphernalia with featuring club logo or mascot -
Having these items can give members more of a sense of belonging and can add to the group's identity.
Outreach to lower grades- Not only is it important to combat homophobia in lower-level classrooms, but giving presentations to lower grades also introduces and helps make younger students feel more comfortable with a GSA.
Have ideas you'd like to share or see listed here? Email them to studentorganizing@glsen.org!
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