Recently, some local junior high students took proper steps to start a Pride Club at their school. A more widely used term for such a club is GSA, or Gay Student Alliance. It is meant to be a safe place for LGBTQIA+ student body members and their allies to meet and mingle. These are the steps the students took: met with members of the high school club, and their faculty sponsor; found a faculty sponsor at their school; gathered over 60 signatures from the student body to show support for the club; and made a powerpoint presentation to show the benefits and need for such a club. They were not given the opportunity to make the presentation. This past Friday, the administration called in one student, solo, to meet in an office with 4 adults, where the student was informed that the club would not be permissible. The reason given was that the administration and faculty members didn’t think the broader student body would be accepting of the club and feared that club members would be at more at risk for being targeted. We, the parents, student body members, and local community members, think this is bullshit. 

According to a survey conducted by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQIA+ suicide prevention organization, 75% of LGBTQIA+ youth experience discrimination in school and nearly half of those surveyed were more likely to seriously consider suicide. It has been proven that the support of family, teachers, and peers reduces these risks. Providing safe spaces for this group has also shown to lower risk for suicide. We believe that strong, open support of the LGBTQIA+ community is the best way to create positive change, not only for this group, but for everyone in the community. Refusal to allow a safe space, especially in the face of kids asking for support, shelters the perspective of bullies rather than taking steps to teach acceptance of diversity. 

The mission statement of the club, as written by the kids, reads as follows: “What the Pride Club will be. The club will be a safe space FOR LGBTQIA+ STUDENTS AND ALLIES. The Pride Club is open to EVERYONE, ALLIES INCLUDED. We want the club to be educational but also a fun and welcoming experience where we talk and just feel supported in who we are for an hour or two.”

By signing this petition you are showing support for Carrollton Junior High School’s formation of a Pride Club for LGBTQIA+ students. Please share in our effort to broadcast the voice of these students.