The week of October 19 was Newtown High School’s Ally Week hosted by the Gay Straight Alliance club (GSA). The goal of Ally Week is to inform students and staff about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning/Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA) community and what they can do to support it. GSA is using posters, social media, morning announcements and staff get-togethers that GSA held to spread the word about Ally Week
“An ally is someone who has unwavering support for ALL sexual & gender minority students,” Ian Fuchs, GSA member and NHS junior, said. “An ally is active in making change, starting progressive dialogue and making our school, town and world a more accepting place.”
Many advances have been made this year for the LGBTQIA community. One of the biggest leaps forward was the legalization of same-sex marriage across America on June 26, 2015 by the Supreme Court. Not only can changes be made on a national level, but students can make a difference at schools.
“We need students to be allies! We need students to reshape their thoughts about the LGBTQIA community in order to reshape the larger mentality of NHS,” Fuchs said.
This year, GSA has about thirty members. They have put up signs in the school hallways, are displaying definitions of different sexualities to educate NHS, and to become a more accepting high school. In the cafeterias, students had the choice to sign a form to become an ally and receive multicolored ribbons to show their support for the LGBTQIA community. This year over 100 students signed up to become an ally. GSA also held the first teacher open house on October 21.
“I think if everyone pledges to at least try to understand, everyone will feel more comfortable,” Kristin English, the staff advisor for GSA, said. “Understanding can come in many different forms. Sometimes, it's just about listening. Sometimes it's about resisting saying or doing something negative even you want to. Sometimes, it's about standing up for someone when they feel like they can't stand up for themselves.”
GSA works so hard each week to make the school atmosphere a kinder and safer place for the students. The members have hosted an open house for teachers to talk about how to become an adult ally, made pledges for students and are constantly coming up with ways to make Newtown a safer community. Help GSA by joining their club or just wear the multicolored ribbon on your backpack.