500 signatures reached
To: Administration and Board of Directors of St. Mary's School
We need a GSA at St. Mary's!
Allow us to start a GSA at St. Mary's, and treat our GSA as you would any other club.
Why is this important?
LGBTQ+ youth at our school are afraid of being themselves because of intolerable bullying and homophobia that exists at St. Mary's. We must stand up to the pushback of the Archdiocese and become a place of love, comfort, and acceptance for all students regardless of gender, sexuality, race, or anything at all.
A Genders & Sexualities Alliance club, or GSA, would provide a much-needed safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and work to create positive change on campus.
Under the Federal Equal Access Act (http://www.gsanetwork.org/federal-equal-access-act), any school that receives government funding and has at least one other non-curricular club is legally required to also allow a GSA. Legally, public schools with other clubs must let students start a GSA -- and must treat the GSA like any other student club! As a private institution, we should go above and beyond in providing all people with their rights and freedoms, not be below public education's Constitutional standards.
GSAs have been proven to make schools safer for all students. Allow us to start a GSA so that ALL students can succeed.