Labels are for clothes, not for people

By Anthony Gonzalez

wordpress.com

How would you feel walking down the hallway and hearing slurs against what and who you are?

Well, that’s what most Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender students deal with on a daily basis.

The fear of not being accepted by the environment you live in, not knowing if your friends and family will accept you for who you are, or throw you to the curb like a pile of trash.

Thoughts like these run through the mind of students who are trying to find out who they are. They wonder, “will I be accepted?”, “will they think I am disgusting?”, “will I get hurt?”, “Am I going to hell for what I am?”.

Most kids finding their identity think this way just because of what they hear from their peers.

According to a survey taken by Bullystatistics.org, more than 1/3 of LGBT kids have attempted suicide due to harassment.

The constant bombardment of hurtful terms such as “queer”, “homo”, or  “you are so gay”, push students away from accepting who they are.

No one wants to be the outcast, the one that no one associates with because of something they cannot control.

Finding yourself is a battle in itself, and hearing hateful terms about what you are just makes the battle even harder.

Everyone wants a place where they can be who they are, and not be judged by anyone, and here at Ridley High School we have the Gay Straight Alliance, a safe haven where everyone is accepted, whether you are Gay, Straight, Bisexual, or Transgender.

A club which was started five years ago by Mrs. Rita Jordan-Keller, and two students who had a dream of creating a place of equality for all.

Most people associate this club to be full of just gay students, but they are wrong. In the club no one knows what your sexual preference you are, unless you openly state it.

The club consists of both heterosexual and homosexual students, also known as Allies and GLB (Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students). It is a group of diverse students, who strive to bring equality to the environment in which they live. “They (the club members) want to learn how to be more supportive of human rights”, stated advisor Mrs.Rita Jordan Keller.

G.S.A is a club that exists through tens of thousands of high schools, middle schools, and Universities.  Every club strives for the same goal, to bring an environment in which students will feel welcome and not judged for their preferences.

The students work together in order to bring awareness to the student population. One way the club members bring awareness to the student population is by taking part in the day of silence.

According to the organization known as GLSEN, “The Day of Silence is a student-led national event that brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Students from middle school to college take a vow of silence in an effort to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior by illustrating the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT.”

The Ridley G.S.A. is a well-recognized organization throughout the community. Four years ago the Ridley G.S.A was invited by Philadelphia’s first and foremost human rights organization, Equality Forum.

At the Constitution Center, the students were honored by more then 600 prominent civic businesses, and some very famous V.I.P.’s such as Mayor Michael Nutter, and former Governor Ed Randell. 

The students were even asked to go up on stage, and speak about the goals of G.S.A.

While many people might believe that G.S.A is a club in which the students deal with “gay problems”, it is not. The club deals with a wide variety of rights for all.

G.S.A. is a http://uwf.edu/gsa/jpegfulltshirt.jpg club that is full of people who will never judge you for being who you are, a safety network for anyone who needs it.

Ridley G.S.A truly takes to heart the lyrics from Lady Gaga’s song Born This Way, “No matter gay straight or bi, lesbian, transgender life, I’m on the right track, baby I was born to survive.”