Wichita GLSEN chapter forming
It's OK to be different.
“Never be ashamed of who God made you to be! You are special. It’s okay to be different, differences are to be embraced!” Liz Hamor first spoke those words to a Hispanic student of hers. Today, they echo through the years, and drive her current efforts to start a GLSEN chapter in Wichita.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN (pronounced ‘glisten’) is a nationwide group that has become the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. The national group conducts extensive research, authors resources for educators, and empowers student to affect change. They partner with decision makers to ensure safe schools policies are considered, passed and implemented, and with dozens of national education organizations.
Hamor heard about GLSEN from Terri Johnson, who she met as a result of their shared concern that all children should be safe in their schools. Together, they researched GLSEN, and started organizing a steering committee to begin a local chapter. As part of their process in starting a local chapter, the ‘Greater Wichita GLSEN Steering Committee’ is hosting a community discussion on Sunday, April 6, at Wichita State University.
GLSEN relies on local groups to focus efforts needed in their communities. According to Hamor, who with Johnson is co-chair of the committee, the meeting planned in Wichita will “gauge interest and need in the community. We already know there is a need here,” but they need to discover which areas are the most pressing in their hometown.
Johnson says the group has been thinking about issues facing LGBT youth and has ideas. “But,” she says, “we want to see what our community thinks are the top 10 challenges that our gay youth face.”
At the community discussion, they will break into discussion groups. One will be about establishing Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in all high schools in the Wichita metropolitan area. Two of the high school students on their steering committee will facilitate that effort. Other areas they expect the meeting to focus on include teacher resources and training; policy making, to work with school boards to adopt gay friendly policies; and identifying allies in the effort.
One of GLSEN’s national programs is the annual “Day of Silence,” observed this year on April 11. On that day, hundreds of thousands of students at thousands of schools are expected to participate by taking a vow of silence, to draw attention to the anti-LGBT harassment and discrimination in schools. The Wichita steering committee is publicizing the event through flyers and posters. Johnson said, “We already have some t-shirts ordered, and note cards printed to let people know why [a student] is not talking.”
"The Day of Silence has grown into one of the largest student-led actions in the world because of students' determination to directly address the pervasive issue of anti-LGBT behavior and bias in our schools," said Dr. Eliza Byard, GLSEN's Executive Director.
The Community Discussion, “Creating Change in Schools” will be Sunday, April 6, at 2pm, in Ahlberg Hall 201, on the Wichita State University campus. The address is 3702 Perimeter Road, Wichita, and is just off the main 17th Street entrance onto the campus.
The meeting is open to anyone with an interest in making our schools safer for all LGBTQI folks: teachers, staff, parents, students and community members.
by Rob Howard, Associate Editor
The Gayly – April 1, 2014 @ 11:55am