Tag Archives: Gay Straight Alliance

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Erick Warner via Change.org


Change.org

My public high school threatened to suspend 20 students for wearing pro-gay t-shirts. Tell my school to stop discriminating and allow students to create a Gay-Straight Alliance.
Sign My Petition

 

The students at my high school need your help. I’m a 16-year-old junior at Celina High School — a public high school in northwest Ohio. We’re trying to make our school more accepting and safe for gay students, but the administration won’t let us.

Recently, 20 students tried to fight homophobia by wearing homemade t-shirts to school that said things like “Straight but Supportive” and “I Support [Rainbow].” Our Vice Principal told students that they had to stop wearing the shirts or face suspension.

I’m straight, but I think it’s wrong that my school is discriminating against gay students and suppressing students’ rights to express our opinions.

I started a petition on Change.org demanding that my school promote a more welcoming environment, including allowing students to create a Gay-Straight Alliance. Click here to add your name.

We all know that anti-gay bullying is a serious problem. In the past few years, we have seen so many kids tragically take their own lives because they were bullied for being gay or perceived to be gay.

I think it’s crazy that at my school, it’s not the kids doing the bullying. It’s the adults who are supposed to be our leaders and role models.

Well I’m not going to take it anymore. Other kids have gotten their schools to allow Gay-Straight Alliances after they started petitions on Change.org — I know that if enough people sign my petition, my school administrators will cease their shameful behavior and create an environment that is supportive for all students, not just straight ones.

Click here to sign my petition demanding that the administrators at my public high school allow students to create a Gay-Straight Alliance.

Thank you,

Erick Warner
Celina, OH

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Pro-gay student assaulted by principal …Eden James, Change.org


Tell Monroe County officials to fully investigate a high school principal’s assault on student who wants a Gay-Straight Alliance              

Chris Sigler wants a Gay-Straight Alliance at his Tennessee high  school, but his principal says no. When Chris wore a shirt to school  supporting the club, that same principal allegedly assaulted Chris —  and neither the school nor the sheriff‘s office has fully investigated  the assault since it occurred last Friday.

Chris was taking an economics exam when Principal Maurice Moser  stormed into the classroom and ordered all other students to leave.  (Chris’s sister, who was in the same class, refused to go.) Principal Moser shoved Chris against the wall, repeatedly bumped his chest against Chris, and shouted, “Who’s the big man now?”

When the folks at the Tennessee Equality Project and the GSA Network  heard about Monroe County’s failure to investigate the assault on Chris,  they knew something had to be done. So  they started a petition on Change.org demanding a full investigation  into the principal’s assualt on Chris — and the creation of a  Gay-Straight Alliance club at Chris’s school. Please add your name to  their petition now.

Chris, who is straight, had been trying since August to create a  Gay-Straight Alliance at Sequoyah High School. Chris wanted to create  the club to provide support for gay students, including his sister,  Jessica, who is bisexual. But Principal Moser blocked Chris from  creating the group.

So Chris created a home-made T-shirt to support the club. The back of  his shirt read, “Gay-Straight Alliance: We’ve Got Your Back.” That was enough to provoke Principal Moser to assault his own student in the middle of an exam.

The principal’s assault on Chris warrants a full investigation from  the sheriff and the school district. And it’s evidence enough that  Sequoyah High School needs a Gay-Straight Alliance. Sign the petition on Change.org calling for a thorough investigation of the assault on Chris Sigler:

http://www.change.org/petitions/investigate-harassment-of-lgbtq-youth-at-sequoyah-high-school-allow-a-gsa

Thanks for being a change-maker,

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Texas school bans gay-straight alliance


When Nikki Peet recently asked for a safe space for students to meet and discuss issues like anti-gay bullying at Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, she expected the support of her school district.

But instead, Dr. Julia Carbajal — Flour Bluff’s Superintendent — decided to cancel all extra-curricular clubs in order to prevent Nikki’s “Gay Straight Alliance” (GSA) student group from forming. It’s her way of getting around the federal “Equal Access Act” law mandating simliar access on school grounds to student groups, regardless of their politics or philosophy.

We know what happens when schools fail to address the bullying of LGBT kids: depression, isolation, and suicide. So we need to help.

http://www.change.org/petitions/let-nikki-peet-start-a-gay-straight-alliance-in-corpus-christi-texas?alert_id=eugiUuWWNO_LvfvIMydvo&me=aa

Nine out of ten LGBT students experience harassment in school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. At least two-thirds feel unsafe in the classroom. LGBT teens can be up to four times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers.

In just a few days, nearly 4,000 Change.org members have signed the petition supporting Nikki, sharing the story on Facebook and forwarding emails like this to their friends.

This Friday, Nikki and members of the Corpus Christi community are organizing a major demonstration outside Flour Bluff High School. At the protest, Nikki and her supporters will be delivering petition signatures to Flour Bluff administrators, sending a strong message that it’s time to provide a safe, caring and effective learning environment for all students — including LGBT youth.

The superintendent’s outrageous actions have garnered attention throughout the U.S. Students, parents, and school officials everywhere are watching to see what happens — and the outcome in Corpus Christi will have reverberations across the country.

Sign our petition today, so Nikki can deliver the signatures of as many people as possible this Friday in Texas:

http://www.change.org/petitions/let-nikki-peet-start-a-gay-straight-alliance-in-corpus-christi-texas?alert_id=eugiUuWWNO_LvfvIMydvo&me=aa

Thanks for taking action,

– Eden and the Change.org team