I sat with Mrs. Stephanie Lange, a Dakota High School resource teacher, this past week. She supervises the GSA; Gender and Sexuality Alliance. The leadership board for this club includes President Cal Gai, Vice-President Eli Darga, Emily Chavez-Martinez, and Vex Tussey.
I asked why there was a GSA, or a “gay club”, at Dakota, and she was very enthusiastic about answering.
“If you look at best practices for schools to be inclusive and for LGBTQ students to feel safe, it’s recommended that there is a GSA available at all secondary schools, even middle schools and high schools. If we’re following best practice for mental health, emotional safety, and inclusion, everyone should have a GSA. The GSA is a place for LGBTQ students and allies to socialize, learn about LGBTQ history, talk about their issues, and relate to each other.”
However, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance club isn’t just a support group for queer kids. Lange mentions the “National Model”, something that every GSA in the United States, follows. All GSA’s incorporate advocacy, community, and support. Dakota’s does this by working with other groups at the school.
“We have displays that we put up around the school during black history month where we highlight – you know, there’s like an intersectionality. So, we highlight black queer people during black history month. We throw that idea out there – that there are LGBTQ people pretty much everywhere throughout history and all around us,” says Lange. “It’s important to include them, embrace them, and be affirming to them. They’re important too. Everybody has a gender; everybody has a sexuality. Every Human. So, it’s like – you can’t be more inclusive than that.”
The club is primarily student-led and is organized like this: Mondays are similar to a support group. You get to know more people in the club, share things about yourself, and talk about what you’re going through.
The second meeting of the month is dedicated to crafts and hanging out, all in an effort to decompress. Jasper, a member of the GSA, repeatedly mentions snakes after Eli says that the crafts are his favorite part of the club. Whether the snakes have to do with solely Jasper or with the club as a whole is a mystery.
This past Monday, members attempted to make pipe cleaner snails. “There were googly eyes everywhere,” says Lange. One of the students had looked up tutorials on how to make other pipe cleaner animals and taught the other students. Kaylin, another member of the GSA, is a fan of the arts and crafts too. While Lange mentions her snail “Gary”, Kaylin proudly talks about her own snails.
The third meeting of the month is focused on current events. The President of Dakota’s GSA, Cal Gai, will put together an educational power point on what’s going on in the world regarding LGBTQ people.
The last, and fourth meeting, of the month GSA members play puzzles, games, and listen to music – and not necessarily Lady Gaga either.
These Gender and Sexuality Alliance meetings make up a comfortable space where teenagers, LGBTQ+ and allies alike, can get to know each other, hang out, and learn. One of Darga’s favorite memories from GSA is, “Seeing everybody and getting everybody’s points of view, and knowing I wasn’t alone.”
I personally know some people, including myself (previously), that were completely unaware of who Lange was or who were embarrassed to be seen in her room because of all the pride flags. This is because they didn’t want to be stared at or judged as they know how queer kids are treated. However, in my personal experience and from talking with others, Lange’s room has become a place of comfort and everyone there is more than welcoming, accepting, and validating.
This is the same with Gender and Sexuality Alliance. If you’ve ever felt as if you’re out of place and can’t relate to anyone because of the way you identify or because of some niche interest, GSA is the place to find your people. As Lange says,
“[GSA] A safe place where no one will judge, pick on, or call you a name.”
