Copyright (c) by Emily Storer, 2008. All rights reserved.

A Gay-Straight Alliance, or GSA, is a youth-led school or community group organized for the purpose of supporting LGBTQ youth and straight allies through discussion, action, friendship, and advocacy.[1]

GSAs exist throughout all levels of education. However, while gay student organizations have existed on college campus since the civil rights era, the establishment of similar groups in high schools did not occur until the late 1980s.

The first gay student organization in America (and perhaps the world) was founded at Columbia University in 1966 under the name the Student Homophile League.[2][3]

The high school GSA movement began in Massachusetts 1988. During that school year, GSAs were established at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts and at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[4][5]Within 12 months, the first public high school GSA was founded by students at Newton South High in Newton, Massachusetts.

Despite the initial success in Massachusetts, the GSA movement has never been free of controversy or opposition.

Gay-Straight Alliances in the US are protected by the Federal Equal Access Act of 1984 which, ironically, was originally sponsored by conservative legislators for the purpose of protecting Bible Clubs and similar religious organizations in high schools. The Equal Access Act states that a school cannot discriminate against an extra-curricular organization if it allows other extra-curricular groups to exist.[6] Consequently, some schools boards, such as that of East High School in Salt Lake City and El Modena High School in Orange County, California voted to ban extra-curricular clubs entirely rather than allow a GSA to form.[7] In both cases, students have been instrumental in forcing the boards to reverse their decisions. Kelli Peterson, the founder of the East High GSA, inspired hundreds of classmates and community members to protest and rally in the Utah state capitol.[8]

As of 2007, there were more that 3500 GSAs registered with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national organization established in 1990 by Concord Academy GSA founder Ken Jennings to advocate for the rights and well-being of LGBTQ students.[9]GSA members are engaged in every type of activism, from promoting education and tolerance in their own local school communities to participating in nation-wide events such as National Coming Out Day and the National Day of Silence.[10]

References

1. “Gay-Straight Alliances.” 2004. http://www. glbtq.com/social-sciences/gay_straight_alliances.html.
2. Columbia Queer Alliance. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cqa.
3. Marcus, Eric. Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.
4. “Gay-Straight Alliances.” 2004. http://www. glbtq.com/social-sciences/gay_straight_alliances.html.
5. Connolly, Michael. “The Safe Schools Movement: A Multigenerational Social Justice Movement.” Bay Windows 08 Nov. 2007. http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=generation_us&sc2=&sc3=&id=52114
6. Brooke, James. “To Be Young, Gay, and Going to High School in Utah.” New York Times 28 Feb. 1996. The Gay Rights Movement . Ed. Vincent J. Samar. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.
7. “Gay Student Clubs in Utah Face a Ban.” New York Times 19 April 1996. The Gay Rights Movement . Ed. Vincent J. Samar. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.
8. Brooke, James. “To Be Young, Gay, and Going to High School in Utah.” New York Times 28 Feb. 1996. The Gay Rights Movement . Ed. Vincent J. Samar. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.
9. Presgraves, Daryl. “Number of Gay-Straight Alliance Registrations Passes 3,500.” 02 Jul. 2007. http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2100.html
10. Presgraves, Daryl. “Number of Gay-Straight Alliance Registrations Passes 3,500.” 02 Jul. 2007. http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2100.html