Pride Foundation- LGBTQ Community Foundation

photo credit: graur razvan ionut

UPDATE March 9: Discussion about establishing GSAs is NOT on the agenda for the Feb 23 Kennewick School Board Meeting. The discussion will take place March 9 at 5:30pm.

High school is hard enough as it is, so it troubles me to hear that there is resistance from the Kennewick School Board to establishing a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) with official recognition and support of the Associated Student Body (ASB) and administrators.

If a student wishes to start a GSA “social club” at Kennewick High School they may meet informally and the administrators cannot stop them, but without a safe place, and a faculty advisor the chances of a student starting a robust group on his or her own would have little chance of success. The ASB and their administrators need to step up and show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students and their issues.

According to a story in the Tri-City Herald, “90 percent of [LGBTQ] youth have been harassed in school, 60 percent have felt unsafe and 30 percent have skipped school because they felt unsafe.”

WATCH: Breaking the Silence, a documentary about the lives and struggles of LGBTQ youth in Tri-Cities, Washington.

The School Board plans to meet again on February 23rd to consider ways to address LGBTQ youth and it would be nice if they knew that activists from other areas are taking notice. We have to increase pressure on administrators to allow GSAs and vocalize support for bullied LGBTQ kids, so call anyone you know in Kennewick and encourage them to attend the school board meeting on Feb 23rd at 5:30pm at 1000 W 4th, Kennewick, WA. (See note above.)

This year is my 20^th high school reunion, and as it approaches, I think about the isolation, struggles and fears I went through. I remember people being harassed and bullied if they were, or perceived to be, lesbian or gay so I found it hard to get close to anyone for fear they would find out my secret.

I often wonder how much better it could have been if there was a supportive and accepting club like the GSA in my school. A GSA provides a safe place for students during the coming out process and helps youth break through the isolation to find support from peers and school staff who are committed to making schools safer and more accepting for LGBTQ students.