by Program Leader Meredith Barranco
Kennedy High School, in Bellmore, looks like many other schools on Long Island. But within Kennedy High School there is an amazing story about the power of youth leadership that many other schools could stand to learn from.
The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) of Kennedy High School has a jaw-dropping 70+ members. In a social environment where sexuality is often a taboo topic, it’s incredible how many students are committed to making their school more tolerant, understanding, and safe for LGBT youth.
GSAs are clubs that give LGBT youth and their straight allies a safe space to discuss sexuality, acceptance, coming out, and how to educate others. GSAs can be controversial. Getting school administrators and the Board of Education to sanction a club can be a difficult journey. Once a club has been established, it’s often difficult to keep a steady membership. Other GSAs I have visited have had 10 to 15 members. The story of how Kennedy’s GSA became one of the largest and most active GSA on Long Island is impressive and touching.
When I came to visit them, the faculty advisors filled me in on the beginnings of this incredible club. The GSA started in May 2011. Students and faculty had discussed the need for such a club for several years, but one student Camila helped the school take the first step.
After one of her teachers put up a ’Safe Spaces’ sticker in his room, Camila felt encouraged to talk to him about some concerns. She confessed that she felt unsafe and isolated as the only “out” lesbian student at school. After doing some research and discussing it with the school administration, Camila got approval for a GSA.
According to one of the advisors, the first few meetings were “thrown together” and held in the school social worker’s office. With just a few weeks before the end of the school year, they brought together ten students. In September 2011, the membership exploded, and they completely outgrew their meeting room. They started meeting in a much larger room to accommodate the 65-80 students who wanted to attend each week.
An after-school club with 70 members poses unique challenges to the advisors and the student leaders. They decided to divide the membership into committees, such as public relations, event planning, education and outreach, fundraising, and media.
In less than a year, the GSA has accomplished several actions. They held an ‘Ally Week,’ recognizing straight allies, during which they a banner in the main hall, and asked students to sign it and pledge to defend and support their LGBT classmates. They asked allies to wear purple on certain days, rainbow ribbons on others, and they encouraged teachers to put Safe Space stickers in their classrooms. Ally Week was well-received, and they’re planning on having a similar week of activism in the spring.
The GSA also made a video for the popular ‘It Gets Better’ campaign. It is student-written, developed, filmed, and edited, and it was broadcast to first-period classes so every student was able to see the video.
Reaction to the GSA has been generally positive, but there have been a few incidents of hate and intolerance. During a bake sale to raise funds for the club, one student returned what he was going to buy with the comment: “I don’t want a faggot cupcake.”
Nonetheless, the GSA believes that their cause is viewed positively by most of the school community, and beyond. News of their success travelled to another Bellmore/Merrick high school which has a fledgling GSA that comes to observe Kennedy’s meetings and receive training. GSA members are also exploring the possibility of doing presentations at the district’s middle schools to prevent bullying and intolerance.
Kennedy High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance is an incredible success. Through student leadership and positive faculty/student collaboration, they have built an enduring resource to improve the lives of students.
