20 Ways Your GSA Can Rock The World!

Feb 05, 2001

1. Create a Diverse School Library
2. Creating Safe Spaces
3. Day of Silence
4. Documentary of a Student's Life
5. Document School Heterosexism or Gender Bias
6. Diversity Day
7. Diversity Panels
8. Editorials
9. Educational "Theme Months"
10. Guest Speaker Meeting
11. Handouts & Information Boards
12. LGBT Alumni go Back-to-School
13. Marching with Pride
14. Non-discrimination & Anti-harassment Policies
15. Organize a Movie Event
16. Outreach to Middle Schools
17. Family Night
18. Queering the Curriculum
19. School Climate Survey
20. Teach the Teachers

1. Create a Diverse School Library

See what books and resources your school has to offer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. Talk to your administration or librarian about getting more diverse or inclusive books added to your library. Your group, or local community organizations, might also donate LGBT-friendly books to the library. Learn More

2. Creating Safe Spaces

Create a campaign educating teachers on the importance of creating a Safe Space in their classroom. You can do this through creating fact sheets, writing testimonies or possibly having a 1-on-1 meeting explaining the importance of a safe space for all students. Going a step further, your group can provide teachers with "Safe Space" stickers, such as those from GLSEN. Order Safe Space Stickers

3. Day of Silence Project

Participate in the Day of Silence Project - an international event that increases awareness about the invisibility of LGBT youth and LGBT issues. Students who protest the silence created by heterosexism and anti-LGBT bias in our society take a 9-hour vow of silence. Instead of speaking, participants hand out cards explaining the event. Learn More

4. Documentary of a Student's Life

You might want to organize a week or month long documentary of the harassment, name-calling and discrimination students have faced or seen against other's in their school. Afterwards you can compile reports, write editorials or hold a discussion about the results.

5. Document School Heterosexism and Gender Bias

Research and list examples of heterosexism around the school, and then present these to your school administration and possibly even your school newspaper. You may find this in written policies, practices or events. Some examples may include no bathrooms that aren't gender specific for those who don't fit into socially defined "gender labels" or a policy that prohibits persons of opposite gender's going to the prom, or other school functions.

6. Diversity Day

Sponsor a "Day of Diversity" when other school groups interested in civil rights issues get together and talk about the problems they've worked on and the issues they address. Such a day can be a great way to better understand and educate on the diversity of our world. With education, come understanding. Building coalitions among various school groups can be a great way to meet new people, explore ideas, and increase everyone's base of support.

7. Diversity Panels

A number of schools have hosted "Diversity Panels" which give spokespeople representing racial, religious, gender, and sexual orientation diversity a chance to talk about their experiences with harassment and discrimination. Students from one GSA spoke at the "Day of Respect" all-school assembly. This can be a good way to work with other human rights groups towards educating others and create a safer school environment, while establishing alliances with other students and groups.

8. Educational "Theme Months"

Use pre-established "theme months" and give them a queer slant. For National Poetry Month, have poetry reading where students and teachers read the poetry of LGBT authors. Better yet, make it a community-wide event sponsored by your group - it's great positive publicity! You could hold similar events or invite speakers for other months, such as Black History Month and Women's History Month. Talk about the intersections between sexual orientation and other aspects of life. And don't forget, October is LGBT History Month. Learn More

9. Editorials

Many student leaders write editorials for their school and community newspapers. These editorials can often be on just about anything, from discussing what it's like as an LGBT identified student in your school, to the harassment and bias LGBT people find in life - or about a certain issue or legislation dealing with LGBT issues. Learn More

10. Guest Speaker Meeting

Many groups invite speakers or guest from local LGBT or diversity community groups to discuss different issues. Speakers may be invited for an open meeting or an administrative-approved, school-wide event. Common community groups that have been invited include GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) Chapters, PFLAG (Parent's, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays") Chapters, ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere).

11. Handouts & Information Boards

Create a handout or fact sheet on LGBT Issues, or host a monthly bulletin board with such information. Issues may include statistics and reports of the harassment LGBT youth and people face, or even the history of an LGBT-related item, like the Pink and Black Triangle symbols or the Stonewall Riots.

12. LGBT Alumni go Back-to-School

Alumni can be wonderful allies. They can serve as bridges between the school and the community. Many have access to helpful and exciting resources. Your school's alumni may be able to help you out with everything from vocal and financial support to speaking engagements and training resources. Some groups have invited LGBT alumni to return to their Alma Maters to talk about the experiences they had as an LGBT identified student in your school. Alumni can have enough distance to talk freely about the obstacles they encountered, and they can be useful allies in getting support for your work.
How do you find and contact alumni? Your group can put a notice in the town paper, the local community gay paper, or in your school's alumni paper stating that your group would like to speak with interested, supportive alumni. You might want to describe what your group does, why it's important, and list a person readers can contact for more information.

13. Marching with Pride

Many groups have attended civil rights and pride marches as well as the annual "From all Walks of Life" AIDS Walk. Several groups attended the LGBT March on Washington. And many others have used the support of local GLSEN Chapters or community groups to form local GSA Contingents, marching together. Any such formal activity off-school grounds may be dependent on your school club rules on field trips, and all such activities should be organized through the school administration in advance.

14. Non-discrimination & Anti-harassment Policies

Find out what your school's anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies say; do they include the words "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity"? Your group could organize a letter writing campaign or you could talk to your administration to get the words included if they're not. If they are, check and see what your school district's policy says. You could work with other GSAs in your school district to make sure the words are included. You don't have to stop there - check out your town and state policies, too. Know how you're protected under the law! Sample Policies

15. Organize a Movie Event

Many schools over the last year have used some of the recent successful movies or documentaries to bring LGBT issues to the school at large. Such events have often been followed by a panel discussion or guest speaker. Check a listing of LGBT-related films and documentaries for others.

16. Outreach to Middle Schools

Research has found that anti-LGBT slurs are the second most commonly used insults uttered by elementary school children. One GSA member said, "It's important to go to the middle schools and teach sixth graders that when they say 'fag' it's offensive and wrong - many students don't understand how such a word can hurt others, or even themselves." Members of another group went back to their middle school and talked with the administration about the homophobia they encountered there. They told the administration that they felt it was important to do something to change the climate of that school. After working with the administration, three members of the GSA returned to the middle school and discussed anti-LGBT harassment and discrimination with three different eight-grade classes. The eight graders had lots of questions, and the group members were exuberant in having had this opportunity to help break the silence and fear surrounding issues of anti-LGBT bias at their Alma Mater.

17. Family Night

Hold a "Family Night” where you invite family members to attend a GSA meeting held in the evening. These activities give family members an opportunity to learn about the activities that your group has been doing, and what the GSA is planning for the future. Different family members can offer all kinds of interesting resources to your group, and as a result, some family members have established groups of their own to work on creating safer communities.

18. Queering the Curriculum

Brainstorm ways teachers of each subject can be inclusive of LGBT issues in their classes. Examine the curriculum your teachers are already using, and brainstorm ways they could include LGBT people, events, or topics in the lesson plans. Go subject by subject, and then distribute the results of your brainstorm to each department! Furthermore, include some of the many LGBT inclusive curriculums now available from organizations such as GLSEN. Include a note on why it's important to be inclusive of all students in a classroom. Learn More

19. School Climate Survey

A number of GSAs have sent out surveys to assess the level of tolerance their school has for LGBT students and to better target the work that needs to be done. Some have surveyed students, teachers and school staff, and parents about issues relating to LGBT students and homophobia. The Spectrum GSA gave out a survey to 849 students "to measure some of the effects of anti-LGBT bias in the school" and published the results in the school newspaper. They found, among many other startling facts, that 36% of the school reported that verbal harassment based on sexual orientation occurred at the high school on a daily basis. 400 students at another high school were surveyed, and 34% of them said that their friends would be uncomfortable if they found out that "someone they knew was gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender." Surveys can be a helpful determinant in figuring out what sorts of educational activities to plan and what sorts of posters might help people re-think their assumptions. Consider issuing a yearly survey to measure the school's climate and effects of your GSAs work. In most schools, surveys must be approved by the administration, so meet and work with them on how you can approve the school climate for everyone. Learn More

20. Teach the Teachers

Consider sponsoring training for teachers in your school about issues facing LGBT students - the things you would want them to know. Put together a panel of students who want to talk about their own experiences or things they have witnessed in school. Invite a speaker from a community organization such as GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) or PFLAG (Parents, Friends, and Family or Lesbians and Gays) to come speak about LGBT issues in schools, or perhaps choose a video for teachers to watch, such as "It's Elementary" or "Out of The Past".