by Lynette Alice

Created on: February 21, 2009   Last Updated: February 22, 2009

Starting a Gay Straight Alliance or GSA at your school really isn't as difficult as it sounds no matter what your age is. While they are most commonly present at middle schools and up, there are actually some GSA's at the elementary school level as kids are feeling more and more comfortable being open about their sexual orientation and gender identity at younger ages in this era. Beginning a GSA won't cost you any money, just a little time and the willingness to talk openly about the need of your school to have such an organization.

A GSA has the main focus of educating people as to what homosexuality and transgenderism is and is not, as well as providing support to it;s members. What has made GSA's so successful is that they put together local peers in real time where they can work through issues as they arise in order to make their little corner of the world a better place. Imagine thousands of GSA's across the world doing this and you can see the future outlook for a more LGBT friendly world is a real possibility. As the name implies, a GSA is open to everyone gay and straight alike. It is by working together that goals are accomplished and stereotypes are broken. We all go through life working together, living next to each other, and interacting socially, so making people comfortable with diversity of this nature at as young an age as possible is always a good thing.

To start a GSA at your school the first thing you will need is support. You likely will already have a group of people in mind who can be your cornerstones to build upon. Use these people to get out the word and gauge how receptive people are. Not everyone is going to be supportive, but that is true of any group so don't let disappointment stop or slow you down. Once you have an idea as to whether you will have a number of people interested in participating that you are comfortable with follow these steps to kick things into high gear:

1) Find a teacher that is willing to be your teacher/staff adviser. School groups require a teacher be involved to oversee things in order for a group to be officially recognized. Again, you likely have someone in mind. Approach them with your idea and let them know this is something you are serious about and how important it is to you.

2) Petition the student body for members. It will go a long way to getting your GSA recognized if when applying for recognition you can demonstrate that there is a significant enough portion of the student body interested in joining

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