First off, usually I am not compelled to make such threads - threads that are only relevant to myself, rant-like, and whiney. But, everyone needs their firsts, so allow me to be cathartic for a second.
…
Anyway, awhile back I started a thread on whether or not I should create a GSA. As it turns out, a friend of mine was contemplating making one for her Senior Capstone, so I just followed suit and persued it religiously.
Now, after several meetings, I am completely astonished by just how homophobic our school is.
I mean, before I knew very well we were completely and utterly ignorant as a population, especially considering “I hate gays” was taken as an acceptable answer to whether or not SSM should occur. I also knew, when creating a club like this, that signs get ripped down and people generally aren’t accepting.
But…
Not only are signs getting ripped down by students, but janitors are carelessly doing this as well. Atleast a half dozen people have witnessed several different janitors tearing down a GSA sign, right next to a Young Life or Christian Athlete flyer - obviously leaving those intact.
Flyers are not even staying up for an hour! Hanging off the stairwell so no one could jump and reach it from below and only with careful acrobatics from above, a flyer I posted right at the tardy bell was not there an hour and some odd minutes later when I went to lunch.
There are roughly 6 members of the GSA out of a student body of roughly 13000. We are replacing signs as much as possible and our trying to get some sort of tolerance anywhere, but it is next to impossible with just an exhibition full of Inuits.
I mean, I have resorted to wearing GSA flyers on my body, untill we raise money for some shirts. At the very least, it is less likely to be ripped off and there is now atleast a face for these kids supposed enemy.
(Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, or attempts to rip a sign down from across the intraweb is more than welcome.)
That’s horrible. We have a LGBT resource center on campus and also various other support groups and groups to bring hetero and homosexuals together. We had mock marraiges last semester in Speaker’s Circle, the most prominent place to speak on campus (a place made in the middle of campus with high foot traffic for public speaking by anyone). It made the front page of the campus paper. My campus is huge but I havent noticed any outright homophobia. Which is good, cause I’d have to smack a bitch if I saw anything like that. While I haven’t met any homosexual friends on campus yet, I have many back home and feel very strongly for homosexual acceptance and rights.
I don’t think the janitors are being careless. I think they are doing it on purpose. I’ve known a few janitors, I wouldn’t guess most of them to be social progressives.
I’m sorry. That stinks. It is worth the fight, I swear. It’s hard enough to be different in high school. It’s even worse when you think you are all alone.
Having just started such a group on our campus this semester, I understand your problems. I think what helped us a lot was getting out there and letting people know that we were serious about what we’re doing. So far, we’ve been able to do an event for national coming out day, we set up a table on Halloween with the other on-campus organizations to give out candy, and have a guest speaker coming on Tuesday, and are starting a movie night on Wednesday.
Also, being readily available and willing to talk to people who ask you questions helped. I don’t know how security is at your school, but we’ve been able to be highly visible without much fear of witch hunts from the student body. (There were supposed to be water balloons launched at us by one of the frats at one event, but that never materialized.)
I’ve been there. Freshman year in high school, my best friend wanted to start a GSA. It took the school and the school board over a year to finally approve it, despite having the backing of three teachers. We had posters ripped down, we had our announcements “accidentally” forgotten during the morning announcements every day for months at a stretch. We’d meet in a classroom after school and a game developed amongst other students: they’d run down the hallway, scream “fags!” at us, and keep going. :rolleyes:
I’ve been considering trying to start a GSA at my college. It’s not “nessecary” on campus - we were actually rated the eleventh most accepting campus in the nation by one of those ranking deals. But I figure it can’t do any harm, and (completley selfishly) it would be something to put on a resume. Plus, if we could get into the non-campus community a bit…it can never hurt.
As others have said: Hang in there. It’s worth it in the long run, though more often than not can feel like the only thing you’re doing is banging your head into a brick wall.
Wow, what a different world. I don’t remember any sort of crap being thrown and the GSA in our high school 15 years ago, and in university, all three members of the student council that I knew personally were openly gay.
Could you put up poster saying:
**Only a
repressed homosexual
would tear down
these posters
Er, sorry - 1300. In all acuality, though, I know of a couple of schools that are in the tens of thousands.
MrFantsyPants - brilliant. I was actually toying with the idea of saying something along the lines of “Ripping us down won’t make us go away.” Yours, I feel, is much better.
Per everyone else, I do feel it is worth the fight, but I severly underestimated just how much fighting there was going to be. At least we got approved fairly quickly, I suppose. Also, no threats as of yet have been hurled at us.
Still, the GSA is not being done so much for us as it is being done to help kids who feel their feelings are “wrong” or “sinful.” So far, no one knows of anyone who is an out and out homosexual, which is almost impossible to believe. Bi, sure, but no one explicitly gay. I’m not looking for the GSA to change the hearts and minds of those most ignorant, but I would like at the very least to make the environment comfortable enough so that no one cares who you bang.