No GSA at my school... you know why?

That doesn't sound very fair and/or legal.
I don't know much about laws but couldn't a petition make a difference?

 

Oh. I'm sorry to hear.
If its in the interest of students though, I think they'd have to consider it at least.
That's what I would think. I'm not too sure with laws and regulations.

 

Actually, that is illegal for your principal to do.

Sadly, its not a legal battle you would want to take on if you aren't out to your parent yet :/

If you do decide to take it out or one of your friends does, then you guys have an easy way in. By law, all public schools must either accept ALL extra curricular groups or else they must reject ALL of them as well. Either way, the ACLU would be ALL over this case in no time.

 

Agh, I know the pain. I'm sorry (*hug*)

At least you had the guts to ask the vice president which is huge! Go you for taking initiative

 

isn't middle school only 3 years?...

back in my middle school, like the only notable and maybe, surviving club was chess club. other extracurricular activities are same old: athletic, band, orchestra, those things

 

Well, high school is usually only 4 years, so that's not too much more than 3.

But I think if it were to be put in effect, it could stay. Could get more people interested in the community and more accepted. Still worth a shot I'd say. But if not, good attempt at least.

 

Here are some tips for your next try. If you need any help with anything let me know. I have experience creating multiple GSA groups in schools around my area so maybe I can be of some help.

How to Start a Gay Straight Alliance | American Civil Liberties Union

 

There you go:

How to Start a Gay-Straight Alliance - YouTube

 

If you are going to start a GSA or similar group, I would recommend waiting until high school, if for nothing else, so that you can establish the group firmly. Having only one year, or less than that would more than likely just cause a commotion and incline the principal to be against another one forming after the initial group leaves the school. The first year is usually the most difficult, battling peoples misconceptions and phobias.

The next part is equally important. The leader of your GSA should either be an active ally (someone who is not a member of the LBGT community, but supports it openly) or an out and proud memeber. Having a closeted spokesperson isn't typically a good idea, because you're trying to promote openness and awareness. You want to teach the people in your group that it's okay to be different, and need to be able to give advice on coming out, both to oneself and others. You can't do that if you haven't done it yourself.

As far as starting one goes, and the process, You'll need to write a proposal for your group, and what you will be doing in it. I reccomend that you make it very general, basically stating that your purposes will be promoting awareness, fund raising (cancer, aids, and charities work well to get their attention), and a general safe place for the LBGT community to talk about their lives and seek help if they need it. You'll also need to combat any arguments against the club. The biggest argument against GSA that principals seem to use is that it's "not affiliated with the curriculum." You can combat this by stating that your school has groups such as Future Farmers of America, Fellow Christian Athletes, special interest or hobby groups like Chess, anime, comics, etc. If your school allows those groups, yours must be permitted as well.

Like our friendly Admin, The EdEnd, I also have experience setting up multiple GSA groups, So if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to help as well. Best of luck to you Matthew

 

I have no experience with GSA or the like, so if this is completely the wrong approach then my apologies, but would it be worth presenting it as a group to promote tolerance for all, including anti racism, anti-bullying etc, rather than labeling it as GSA? Perhaps the powers that be would be more inclined to support it then.

 

In response to the OP: inappropriate? How? Does he think that boys asking girls to a dance is inappropriate too?

His response is what is wildly inappropriate. You have my sympathy.

 

Friends of mine tried to get one in HS.

it's private school. We have a conservative board. But no kidding - I believe our principal thought a GSA was a place for gays to have sex.

Hahaha

 

Wow... what your vice principal said was inappropriate.