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By Laura Wong
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Nov. 25, 2003 |
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After receiving a grant last spring, a club is using the money to create a safer and more tolerant environment at city schools.
In February, the Youth Initiative Institute, an association that helps fund student-led projects that deserve financial assistance, gave Lowells Gay-Straight Alliance a grant of $1,460. Since then, GSA has been using the money to support their Allies Training Program, which teaches students how to support lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexual students, as well as family members who might be gay, according to GSA sponsor Barbara Blinick.
We want to take our message to a handful of students throughout the city so they can start ATP in their own schools, Blinick said.
"We want to take our message to a handful of students throughout the
city .
Barbara Blinick,
GSA sponsor |
GSA held their first off-campus general training session at Hoover Middle Schools gym on Oct. 24, when ATP members met with 28 students from Hoovers Wellness Club.
The Hoover kids were great, Blinick said. They were really excited and had lots of questions.
The students wanted to learn, had good input and were happy to participate in all the activities, GSA member junior Jeannette Osterweil said.
They were able to understand what it felt like to be gay, and realized how hurtful (homophobic) comments could be. By the end, they were more open to changing.
After the positive reception from the Hoover students, GSA has decided to change their goal to a two-prong focus, according to Osterweil.
While GSAs goal was formerly to target mainly high school students, they now plan to educate middle school students to be allies and to teach high school students to be trainers, as well as allies.
GSA plans to visit Presidio and A.P. Giannini Middle Schools next, according to Blinick. |
