In the resolution, statistics from GLSEN’s 2011 Climate Survey are even cited to emphasize the large population of students who felt unsafe at their schools.  It means a lot to us to know that we have the support of Congresswoman Lee who, like us, believes that bigotry, hatred and discrimination are unacceptable.

As someone who has both witnessed bullying of others in addition to experiencing bullying myself, I find it comforting to know that Congresswoman Lee and others like her are actively working towards making sure that everyone feels included in school.

Actions like that of Congresswoman Lee are small steps toward abolishing discrimination and ensuring schools are safe for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Rohan Mackle, GLSEN Student Ambassador & Policy Intern

Take the time this afternoon/evening to double check your to-do list with your GSA advisor and/or fellow organizers. Make sure you haven’t put anything off until the last minute because once you get to school you will want to be able to hit the ground running in order to make the biggest impact.

Here are some things to remember as you finalize your arrangements for your Day of Silence event:

LIST: Make a to-do list of final tasks and think of people who could take on some of those tasks for you. Get started with the items on this list!

REGISTER: If you haven’t already, be sure to CLICK HERE to register your participation in the Day of Silence and be counted among the hundreds of thousands of other students nationwide participating in the Day of Silence.

CONNECT: The night before your event call, email or text all of the people helping you organize to make sure everyone is on the same page. Also make sure to stay connected on social media, like facebook and Twitter!

PRINT: Be sure you have all the materials you need, and extras to hand out, such as: Speaking Cards, Lambda Legal: Freedom to Speak (Or Not) 2013, ACLU: Letter to Principal or Educator, Stickers, and cut, fold, or label these materials as needed.

GATHER: Get all Day of Silence items and materials in one place to ensure that they are clean and organized (shirts, buttons, stickers, pamphlets, speaking cards, posters, etc.)

CHARGE: You want to take pictures, right? Text? Tweet? Make sure your camera, phone and computer batteries are all charged up and ready to go in the morning!

DOUBLE CHECK your to-do list: It never hurts to be extra careful!

REST: You’re gonna need it for your exciting day of taking action!

We are so excited to hear about how your day goes! Don’t forget to post your pictures and thoughts on facebook, Twitter or via e-mail. We love to hear from you.

Have an great and empowering day,

Juliann DiNicola

1. You DO have a right to participate in Day of Silence and other expressions of your opinion at a public school during non-instructional time: the breaks between classes, before and after the school day, lunchtime, and any other free times during your day. If your principal or a teacher tells you otherwise, you should contact our office or the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

2. You do NOT have a right to remain silent during class time if a teacher asks you to speak. If you want to stay quiet during class on Day of Silence, we recommend that you talk with your teachers ahead of time, tell them that you plan to participate in Day of Silence and why it’s important to you, and ask them if it would be okay for you to communicate in class on that day in writing. Most teachers will probably say yes.

3. Your school is NOT required to “sponsor” Day of Silence. But Day of Silence is rarely a school-sponsored activity to begin with – it’s almost always an activity led by students. So don’t be confused – just because your school isn’t officially sponsoring or participating in Day of Silence doesn’t mean that you can’t participate.

4. Students who oppose Day of Silence DO have the right to express their views, too. Like you, they must do so in a civil, peaceful way and they only have a right to do so during non-instructional time. For example, they don’t have a right to skip school on Day of Silence without any consequences, just as you don’t have a right to skip school just because you don’t like what they think or say.

If you feel like your rights have been violated, please report your experiences here.

We had the opportunity to ask him a ton of questions, like: “Can we wear Day of Silence gear?” “Can we show a video during the announcements  and have discussions about what the students saw?” And, “Do teachers have the right to make students participating in the Day of Silence talk in class that day?”*  We were able to show our principal different videos, including the GLSEN video with Wanda Sykes, and he was able to give us more information and insight on what would be allowed in our school for that day.

Our GSA will be creating a formal proposal to give him, but we now know we are allowed to participate in the Day of Silence with the support and confidence of our principal.

Dana B.
Omaha, NE

*Make sure you know your rights before participating in the Day of Silence

Student ambassador César Rodriguez created a video about why you should register. Check it out!

Early registrants will get free Day of Silence gear. Plus, everyone who registers will be sent tips and resources to help your Day of Silence activities be the best they can be!

Click here to register!

The second annual GSA is today, February 6th, 2013!

GSA Day is a day to encourage GSAs to be visible, celebrate their successes, and raise awareness in their school about how they are an effective tool in combating hostile and unsafe learning environments for all students.  Use GSA Day as a mid year reminder to students about the amazing work your club is doing at your school! Check out more resources and ideas for participation here.

Are you planning on participating? Let us know in the comments below!

Get connected with other GSAs around the country by participating in a LIVE Tweet chat with GLSEN, GSA Network, Campus Pride and Iowa Pride Network at 3PM PST today! Join the conversation here!

April 19, 2013 is the next Day of Silence, save the date!

Click the image below to share it on your Facebook!

or click here to send a tweet about it!

Also, buy your merchandise early and save! T-shirts are on sale for 10% off at the GLSEN store now through February 15, 2013.

However, something changed when I realized not only that other people were feeling the same thing, but that people who weren’t even LGBTQ were willing to stick out their necks for me. These people were my allies.

No matter what choices I made or how many people were pushing against them they never left my side. They helped me pull through bullying, adjusted to new names and pronouns without question and never even considered the possibility that I was anything other than myself. These allies weren’t just students but teachers as well. It was my adviser who upon learning of my gender identity immediately put a plan in place so that my preferred name would be on all school documents. It was the teachers that when they messed up a pronoun apologized so profusely I thought they would cry. Most of all my English teacher who was so willing to start a GSA, he was ready to go against the administration for it.

People have always told me that I am really brave and that I deserve something for what I am doing. I think it should work the other way around. For me it’s just about trying to be myself and be happy with my life. But for allies, they risk their own happiness and popularity for the sake of others that they might not even know. That is an outstanding quality in someone.

Now that I have graduated from high school, I too have taken on the role of being an ally to LGBTQ students. I continue to keep in touch with friends in tight situations, learn about how students are doing and provide information to teachers and parents alike with resources to help the young people in their life.

This Ally Week, I would like to dedicate my thanks to all they allies in my life, and whether they are near or far, they will always be in my thoughts. Have a great Ally Week and if you haven’t already please take the pledge to be an ally for all students, and help to create safe schools for everyone.

-Emet

Emet is a former GLSEN Student Ambassador.

Then I found Ally Week. Ally Week brings all people who support equality together and has them pledge to intervene, if they safely can, when they see bullying.

Ally Week is a time when you and your friends can stand up and say, “You know what? Bullying and name-calling needs to stop.”

I was afraid to do an assembly about Ally Week at my middle school. I still remember walking onto the stage in the gym. I looked toward my classmates, but could only make out silhouettes. The bright cream-colored rays from the stage lights burned my eyes.  My cheeks were warm with fear.  I raised the microphone to my mouth, the black plastic slick with my sweat.

I began. I made a plea to my school, my classmates, and my teachers to stand with me, to end bullying in our school, and to pledge to no longer be bystanders. As I walked off the stage, I licked my chapped lips and wished I could take it back.

At the end of assembly, I waited until everyone left and followed them out of the gym. The second the door shut behind me and I looked up, tears pooled in my eyes. A crescent moon of my classmates surrounded me, smiling and clapping. People asked where they could sign the Ally Week pledge and how they could continue to be supportive.

From that moment on, I felt like I belonged. I had a community of people who were committed to making our school safe.

This is why I urge you to participate in Ally Week. This is your chance to tell your classmates that they all deserve to be safe. This is your chance to stand up and say that equality matters. This is your chance to be the difference between bullied kids in your school feeling alone, and feeling supported. Don’t miss it.

Amelia Roskin-Frazee
San Francisco, CA
10th grade student

Want to do something for Ally Week? Take the Ally pledge and find other ways to show your support.

When tolerance isn’t enough, activism must happen

This year, that phrase transformed University School into a school that accepts all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, race, religion, socio-economic background, or gender. From the founding of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, to the theater department’s interpretation of The Laramie Project, to the inaugural Summit on Human Dignity, the school’s administration, students, and faculty have proven to be active supporters of the LGBTQ communities and equal rights.

The Summit on Human Dignity takes place during the last week of October and emphasizes acceptance of all people. This year’s inaugural Summit focused on respect and acceptance of the LGBTQ community. We hosted several guest speakers for the student population, including  Kevin Jennings (he founded the first GSA at the school in which he taught in Massachusetts; he was the first executive director of GLSEN; he was the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools in the Department of Education under Barack Obama), Judy Shepard (she was the mother of Matthew Shepard, the boy on whom the Laramie Project was based), Jessica Lam (one of the most prominent transgender individuals in the country, she has been on the Larry King show and on 20/20), Jessica Herthel (a hate-crime legislation attorney), and Jenny Betz (Education Manager at GLSEN). In addition to having guest speakers, teachers also geared their curricula toward focusing on LGBTQ rights (English teachers would focus on LGBTQ literature, social studies classes focused on the history of gay rights, and science and math classes learned of gay mathematicians and scientists such as Alan Turing). There were question-and-answer booths set up during lunch to educate students on LGBTQ issues. Several students also made presentations about LGBTQ rights and displayed their presentations during their classes.

The effects of the Summit have been evident throughout the year. Many students (including those who are not involved with the GSA) have been correcting others students who utter homophobic slurs—such as “faggot”— or ignorant comments—such as “no homo.” Significantly fewer students have been making sexually ignorant comments since the Summit, and many students have joined the GSA out of support for equal rights.

Along with the Summit on Human Dignity, the GSA hosted various fund-raisers for LGBTQ causes—we had a bake sale to fund-raiser for SunServe (a local, non-profit charitable LGBTQ organization), donated a laptop computer to SunServe’s computer drive to benefit its LGBTQ youth center, and sold wristbands to benefit the Human Rights Campaign, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and SunServe.

The GSA’s efforts have contributed to University School’s improved environment of acceptance. It has inspired students to take a stand for equal rights and respect for all. Being a finalist in GLSEN’s contest has given us more motivation to continue our efforts in years to come. Based on our success this year, I have tremendous hope and expectations for our GSA.

Mason Roth

GSA president and founder
University School of Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, Florida