So, this week was Pride Week at my school. This was our second year doing this and my first being involved in running it. I'm really glad that I got to be part of it this year. I had so much fun this week, it was unbelievable. So here's a rundown of what happened:
Monday - General Pride Day: Monday was the opening day for us. We had Ryan Cassata present during all of our lunch periods and he was totally awesome! He gave an amazing presentation on being trans* (four actually) and he's one of the coolest dudes I've ever met. I'm so glad he came to my school. He made some great changes while he was there. After my Assistant principal sat through some of the presentations and talked with a transgender student, he decided that he would allow the trans* students to use whichever bathroom they choose. This is an amazing step forward for my school, where the only gender-neutral bathroom is out of the way in the nurses' office. Now, the bathrooms are open to all. Thanks Ryan, for helping to bring that change about.
NOTE: By the time this was published, the bathroom privileges had been revoked for trans* students. We're working to have that rectified. It seems we still have a ways to go in my school.
UPDATE 5/27/2013: As of a few weeks ago, trans* students can use the gender-neutral staff bathrooms after they talk with a school administrator. Staff were sent an email notifying them about any students who were planning on using the staff bathrooms. I am planning on getting this permission for the upcoming school year.
Tuesday - Trans* Day: We had a really cool informational poster set up in the common area in my school. A couple kids stopped and read the poster, but no one asked any questions. Either the poster did a really good job explaining or they were to shy to ask. What kids did ask a lot of questions about was our LGBT celebrities wall. I saw people stop and ask their friends what "androgynous" and "asexual" meant so I made sure I stopped and explained everything to them. I think the wall was more educational than we intended it to be.
Wednesday - Bi Day: This was the most jam-packed day of the week. We (again) had a poster set up in the school's common area. Paired with that, we had face painting. We painted red equal signs (support for the two cases being heard by the Supreme Court dealing with marriage equality) and pink triangles (gay pride symbol). It was a lot of fun. Messy, but fun. We also had a scavenger hunt. We printed out miniature bisexual flags and hid them around the school. If someone found any of the flags, they could go to the GSA adviser's classroom and answer a question about bisexual stereotypes. If they answered correctly, they got a piece of candy. I'm still not sure who won...
Thursday - Wellness Day: Alright, this day actually wasn't part of Pride Week. It's something my school plans every year. We get to skip our classes to go to special courses and hear guest speakers. The only reason why I'm mentioning this day is because we had Michael Fowlin and Zach Wahls as guest speakers. Michael Fowlin is an actor and psychologist who talks about... well, he talks about a lot of things. One of his main ideas is that words really can hurt people. And even though we've heard that message so many times, it's nice to hear it from someone new (who happens to be great at making strange voices). Zach Wahls is a college student who spoke at the Iowa House Judiciary Committee to fight legislation that would have made same-sex marriage illegal. He was a fantastic young man who dispelled the stereotypes that go along with having two moms. They are both wonderful speakers and we were so lucky to have them present at our school.
Friday - Day of Silence: For those of you who don't know, Day of Silence is a day when you can choose to be silent to support those who have been bullied into silence or even suicide. The day was quite successful, and many conversations were sparked about what the day meant. All of the students and staff were very respectful of those participating. And after all of that, we had a party! My GSA hosted another school's GSA at our school for a Breaking the Silence Party. I really didn't know what to expect, but it was a lot of fun and I met so many new people. We had a great discussion about how Pride Week, specifically the Day of Silence, went for both schools. After we determined that both schools had a successful day, there was plenty of pizza to be had.
All in all, this was a great week for my school and I'm so glad I got to be part of it. I can't wait until next year!
Reminder: Please, please, PLEASE, post questions, comments, and suggestions for topics for me to write about in the comments section below. I really want to hear from you guys.
Lots of love,
Nick
No comments:
Post a Comment