Hello & Comments Wanted on GSA

[Blixster]

Hey all, this to be my first post... yeah. So, here goes.

My name is Blix, and I'm currently a high school senior who has secured a location for a GSA-type program, entitled "You Belong", at a local Universalist Unitarian Church. Our first meeting is set on the 4th of April, and before then, I was wondering if anybody had any helpful advice I could use; I have planned a video and then following that a discussion, but besides talking I want activities that perhaps the youth can participate in; I'm not sure how many kids are going to show up, but I think it may be a lot, but that just may be my ego, lol.

Any advice (or anything constructive) would be MUCH appreciated Gracias, and have a great day peeps

[closetcougar]

Good for you!!! I love to see young proactive people making a difference and the Unitarian Church is such a warm welcoming church. It is one of the few religious places in Utah that are accepting of GLBTQ people without acting like they are extra-righteous for doing so (although they are ). I think that people show up to stuff like this so that they can have a voice where they otherwise feel stiffled and suppressed. I would encourage participation and I think that the greatest single factor for change and less hatred is getting to know people on an individual basis. Regardless of their sexual orientation, or their views/beliefs about it, it is harder to hate someone you know on a personal level.

[Emproph]

Originally Posted by closetcougar

Good for you!!! I love to see young proactive people making a difference...I would encourage participation and I think that the greatest single factor for change and less hatred is getting to know people on an individual basis. Regardless of their sexual orientation, or their views/beliefs about it, it is harder to hate someone you know on a personal level.

I heartily concur with what cougar says.

Depending on how ambitious you/your group wants to be when you get established you may want to consider outreach too. I stumbled across a site one time that would set up meetings with churches for the purpose of informational exchange. Along the lines of what cougar said of just getting to know people face to face and discuss their differences. I think there is so much misunderstanding on both sides of the issue just because we don’t personally know others on the “other” side of the issue.

And this stuck in my mind from the last PFLAG meeting I attended, because the thought of reaching out to those who disagree can be daunting at best. When you’re dealing with highly emotionally charged issues, in order to avoid it turning into a screaming match, break into groups. It’s more intimate, easier to share thoughts and feelings and much easier to manage any potential conflict. Speaking to 6-10 others is much more comfortable than the idea of doing so in front of 50. I think even when you know you're amongst friends it makes for a much more effective and productive dialogue.

Anyway, the video and discussion would have been my first suggestion too. You might even want to take that first meeting to brainstorm and discuss goals. One other important focus should be actively making people feel welcome, at least in the sense that no one should feel obligated to share if they don’t want to. I think that’s a big concern for some people who are new to any group.

There is so much information literally at-our-fingertips, it seems that half the battle of finding it is knowing how to look for it. ‘Resources’ is one key word I’ve learned to use in regard to the subject matter I’m looking for. I got 49,100 matches on Google for (“gay straight alliances” resources). If you put a phrase in quotes it will only list the results that match with the entire phrase. The acronym “gsa” brought up too many unrelated sites.

I’m sure you can get more advice from those with more experience who run some of those sites too. Here’s one: http://www.gsanetwork.org/resources/ , That should keep you busy for awhile and spark some ideas.

Click on “about Google” and then “help and how to search” for more advice. Maybe you already know that but I’m always impressed with myself when I actually take the time to find something important that was there all the time. (or I kick myself for not having done it sooner )

Let us know how it goes,

Good Luck!

[Mia14]

I love that name - "You Belong". It's so perfect, so welcoming... wow.


Sincere kudos.

[revtj]

Let us know how the meeting goes tonite!

[trulyme212]

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to send you my ideas sooner however I would also like to know how the meeting went!

I'm sure it was GREAT!!!

[Blixster]

Haha I was surprised on how well it went! We didn't get a whole lot of people, but the people we did get... we talked for over two hours, and I was like "whoa!" But it definitely helped everyone and we all learned a lot about... everything! It was wicked, and our next meeting is in May 'cuz everyone is so busy the rest of April, but that gives us time to Advertise and spread the word... so yay! And thanks for the resource list above and stuff, I went through that and I used some of it Thanks for the comments!!

[trulyme212]

YAY and CONGRATS!!!

I'm so glad that it went well!!!!

[Emproph]

Happy to hear, glad it went well!