The students at my high school need your help. I need your help.
It would be really nice to attend an Ohio high school as accepting as the one we see on GLEE. But the reality is that Celina High School, like many small town schools, still discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) youth. And it has to stop.
That's why we're urging the administration at Celina High School to let us form a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) so LGBT, questioning, and allied students can build a safe and welcoming school climate.
Just the other day, 20 students at Celina High School, a public school in Mercer County, Ohio, were threatened with out-of-school suspensions for wearing T-shirts that promoted tolerance and support for the LGBT community. They were not offensive. They were not graphic. They simply said things like "Straight but Supportive" and "I Support [Rainbow]."
Our assistant principal forced us to change our shirts because they advertised "political" messages and were disruptive. But students who are part of the pro-life organization Students for Life are able to wear their shirts whenever they'd like. And just recently, our school hosted Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan, who asked us to pray for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. There were definitely several political T-shirts at school that day, and none of them were threatened with suspension.
All students should feel welcome and accepted at school. But according to GLSEN's 2011 National School Climate Survey, 8 out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment and 6 in 10 LGBT students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. This is not OK.
Will you help us improve our school and our community? Please join us in urging Celina High School to allow our student body to have a Gay-Straight Alliance.
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We encourage everyone to join our campaign, but if you're a student or teacher, especially from Celina High School, please say so in "Reasons for signing" section. Thanks!
http://www.change.org/petitions/celina-high-school-allow-our-student-body-to-start-a-gay-straight-alliance
It would be really nice to attend an Ohio high school as accepting as the one we see on GLEE. But the reality is that Celina High School, like many small town schools, still discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) youth. And it has to stop.
That's why we're urging the administration at Celina High School to let us form a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) so LGBT, questioning, and allied students can build a safe and welcoming school climate.
Just the other day, 20 students at Celina High School, a public school in Mercer County, Ohio, were threatened with out-of-school suspensions for wearing T-shirts that promoted tolerance and support for the LGBT community. They were not offensive. They were not graphic. They simply said things like "Straight but Supportive" and "I Support [Rainbow]."
Our assistant principal forced us to change our shirts because they advertised "political" messages and were disruptive. But students who are part of the pro-life organization Students for Life are able to wear their shirts whenever they'd like. And just recently, our school hosted Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan, who asked us to pray for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. There were definitely several political T-shirts at school that day, and none of them were threatened with suspension.
All students should feel welcome and accepted at school. But according to GLSEN's 2011 National School Climate Survey, 8 out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment and 6 in 10 LGBT students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. This is not OK.
Will you help us improve our school and our community? Please join us in urging Celina High School to allow our student body to have a Gay-Straight Alliance.
===
We encourage everyone to join our campaign, but if you're a student or teacher, especially from Celina High School, please say so in "Reasons for signing" section. Thanks!
http://www.change.org/petitions/celina-high-school-allow-our-student-body-to-start-a-gay-straight-alliance
