1. Organize a Day of Silence at Your School
The Day of Silence is an annual event designed to bring attention to anti-gay bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools. Participating teachers and students spend a day without speaking to highlight the fact that many people in the GLBT community are forced to remain silent about who they are. Often held in the spring, consider organizing a Day of Silence at your school!More »
2. Promote HIV Testing & HIV /AIDS Awareness
There are many ways to promote HIV testing and HIV / AIDS awareness. One way is to observe World AIDS Day on December 1st. But that isn't the only time to think about this issue. Consider contacting a local AIDS organization to see if they could do a presentation at your school. You might want to see if your guidance counselor, school nurse or even librarian would want to get on board for something like that!More »
3. Start a Gay / Straight Alliance
Gay / Straight Alliances are clubs that serve as a way for gay and straight students to find like minded peers and create supportive communities. Starting one at your school might not be as difficult as you think! Here are the five basic steps needed to get a GSA going:
- Find out how to start a club at your school.
- Ask a teacher or staff member to be your faculty adviser.
- Decide on a time and place for your first meeting and publicize your GSA.
- Make an outline of what you want to do at the first meeting.
- Have your meeting!
4. Implement a Safe Zone Program
Safe Zone signs identify teachers and administrators at your school who are supportive of the GLBT community -- whether they themselves are gay, or not. Often organizations will run "safe zone" trainings for schools. Posting a safe zone sticker or sign shows that this is a safe person to go to with issues surrounding sexual orientation.More »
5. Celebrate National Coming Out Day
Coming out, or openly declaring that you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT) is a big step for a teen and no one should feel pressured to come out before being ready. But if this is something you feel ready to do, you might want to celebrate, National Coming Out Day on October 11th. Even if you are already out, or not ready to come out, the day is a great time to increase GLBT visibility.More »