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W W W JUSTOUT C O M
NOVEMBER b 2009
Bridging the GSA Gap
Rural Gay-Straight Alliances Look to GLSEN
Oregon s Urban Efforts for Support
By RYAN J. PR AD O
A door suddenly thuds open upon ap­
proaching Beaverton High School on a rainy
afternoon. The scent of cold lockers, old books,
cafeteria carrots and industrial-strength clean­
ing solution wafts through the hallways. I’m
greeted by four enthusiastic products of public
academia, too, each of them buzzing with
energy and surrounding a cookie-toting Larry
Smith, co-chair for the Oregon chapter of the
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
(GLSEN). Nearby, the football team and its
cheerleaders rehearse their respective chore­
ography, while a light rain sparkles the brows
HOSTILE CLIMATES: O f high schoolers p o lle d nationally.
7 3 .6 p e rc e n t re p orte d hea rin g h o m o p h o b ic remarks.
31.7 p e rc e n t m issed a class b e c a u s e th e y fe lt unsafe,
and 3 2 .7 p e rc e n t m issed on entire day.
SOURCE: 2007 NATIONAL SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY
of Beaverton High’s Gay-Straight Alliance
(GSA). Neither group seems to pay attention
to the other.
At Beaverton High—in what is essentially
still a highly urban region of Portland—there’s
little worry of bullying, harassment or
name-calling.
“You won’t see anyone ever shoved against
a locker,” says Beaverton High GSA leader
and GLSEN Oregon Ambassador Laron Tol-
machev. “It’s actually a pretty safe school.”
The transparent issue of safety in schools
for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender stu­
dents—and their allies—has not always been
as prevalent as it is at Beaverton High School,
or any public school for that matter. But
thanks to a club proposal by a straight student
and her history teacher (eventual GLSEN co­
founder Kevin Jennings) in 1988, GSAs have
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been established in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. military
bases. Under the 1984 Federal Equal Access
Act—originally created to protect students’
rights to form religious clubs—students are
legally allowed to organize GSAs. Essentially,
if a school allows one non-curricular club, it
must allow all others.
GLSEN actually began as a local group in
Massachusetts in 1990, then called the Gay
and Lesbian Independent School Teachers
Network (GLSTN), and was volunteer-pow­
ered by a group of 70 gay and lesbian educators.
At the time, according to GLSEN’s Web site,
there were only two GSAs in the nation—and
only one state with policy in place to protect
gay, lesbian, bi and trans students. There were
few resources available for teachers to discuss
issues facing students whose sexual orientation
or gender identity might be affecting their
educational experience.
Realizing the devastating effects that ha­
rassment has on the gay, lesbian, bi and trans
student population, concerned individuals
soon began establishing GSAs across the na­
tion, advocating for a safer school environment
for those who were, or were perceived to be,
gay, lesbian, bi or trans. In 1995, GLSTN went
national and hired Jennings as its first execu­
tive director—a role he stayed in until May of
this year, when he was tapped by President
Barack Obama to head up the Education
Departments Office of Safe and Drug Free
Schools. The organization changed its name in
1997 and now governs the registration process
as a vehicle for nationwide GSA resources,
training, counsel and protection for students
across the country.
Since 2001, the number of GSAs registered
nationwide has increased from 1,000 to 4,000.
There are currently over 100 active in Oregon;
Smith has co-chaired GLSEN’s Oregon chap­
ter for 10 of its 12 years.
“Relative to its size, Oregon has an above
average number of GSAs,” explains GLSEN
Public Relations Manager Daryl Presgraves.
“GLSEN Oregon has made a tremendous
impact throughout Oregon in supporting stu­
dents who start GSAs and the more than 100
GSAs that are already working to encourage
respect in their schools.”
In the Portland Metro area, as well as most
other urban areas in the state, GSA advisors
and students report a consistently high level
of safety for their students who are, or who
might be perceived as, gay, lesbian, bisexual or
transgender. GLSEN’s 2007 National School
Climate Survey found that in schools with ac­
tive GSAs, students heard fewer homophobic
remarks and experienced less harassment and
assault because of their sexual orientation and
gender expression. They were also more likely
to report incidents of harassment and assault;
less likely to feel unsafe because of their sexual
orientation or gender expression; less likely
to miss school due to safety concerns; and
reported a greater sense of belonging to their
community.
Participation, however, is not required for
the GSA to be a success, says GLSEN Oregon
Advisory Board Member Esther Griffin. “Just
knowing the GSA is there makes a lot of dif­
ference to those who don’t attend [GSA meet­
ings] but could. Having a GSA at your school
sends a message that you are definitely not
alone, and that your administration and com­
munity is open to your existence and needs.”
“There are kids, lesbians for example, that
walk around the halls holding hands, and they
don’t go to the GSA necessarily,"explains Mad­
ison High School GSA advisor David Colton.
“They just don’t really feel like they need it, or
they’d rather go out and do something else for
lunch. I think it’s much easier now than it was
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