Gay? Fine by me.

Thanks to all the students and staff who came out to our "Gay? Fine by me" event last week! And very special thanks to ResLife for generously donating the t-shirts!

-GSA Executive Board

Gay Adolescents in the NYTimes

Hey GSAers,

This isn't an official update, just a brief mention. There was an encouraging article about gay middle school kids in the NYtimes today. It's a little lengthy, but well worth the read:

Excerpt:

"

As a response to anti-gay bullying and harassment, at least 120 middle schools across the country have formed gay-straight alliance (G.S.A.) groups, where gay and lesbian students — and their straight peers — meet to brainstorm strategies for making their campus safer. Other schools are letting students be part of the national Day of Silence each April (participants take a vow of silence for a day to symbolize the silencing effect of anti-gay harassment), which last year was held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old gay junior-high student in Oxnard, Calif., who was shot and killed at school by a 14-year-old classmate.

Both G.S.A.’s and the Day of Silence have been controversial in places, as some parents and faculty members object to what they see as the promotion of homosexuality in public schools and the “premature sexualization of the students,” as a lawyer for a school in central Florida that was fighting the creation of a G.S.A. put it. But there is a growing consensus among parents and middle-school educators that something needs to be done to curb anti-gay bullying, which a 2008 study at an all-male school by researchers at the University of Nebraska and Harvard Medical School found to be the most psychologically harmful type of bullying. "

On a side note

Hey GSAers,

On a side note, I know that large portions of the website are nonfunctional right now. The server was updated, and some of the syntax I was using needed to be changed to reflect the new increases in security. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out what I need to change that syntax to, even if it wasn't laborious and tedious, so it's going to be awhile until I can figure it out, or find a work-around.

-Emily

EDIT: Except for the feedback form, I fixed it.

New Semester!

Hey GSAers,

So, it's a new semester, and we're ready to get moving! The current GSA Exec Board had a meeting this weekend to hammer out our agenda for the year, as well as schedule a first meeting for elections. We're working a few things out with Kim Taylor for our first event (Gay? Fine by Me. T-shirts), so we don't have great details yet. We do know, however, that we will be attempting to institute a committee-structure for major events so that everyone can be more involved. Some of the committees and events we will be voting on this year include:

1. Day of Silence
2. Gayla
3. Coming Out Day
4. Outfest
5. Students for Equality Day
6. Transgendered Awareness Day
7. Wellness Fair

There will be an e-mail, more info at the activities fair, and of course- we'll be posting big news here as always.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

-Emily, Webmaster