WHS' Gay-Straight Alliance Faces A Unique Year

The month of October contains many dates of note for LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and others) teens and adults. These include GLSEN's Solidarity Week (October 5-9), National Coming Out Day (October 11), and GLAAD's Spirit Day (October 15). When I spoke with Westwood High School's Gay-Straight Alliance's advisor Anne-Marie Sklarwitz in June 2018, she mentioned that these dates were observed by the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). As this school year brings on a host of unique challenges for LGBTQIA+ students, from potentially being misgendered on Zoom to missing out on the in-person support of GSA meetings, I asked Sklarwitz some questions about how things are going.

HF: I know historically, the GSA has done things for GLSEN's solidarity/ally week. Did it do anything this year?

Sklarwitz: GLSEN's official date for this is always in October, which is too early in the year for us to ever get fully organized. We have always recognized this important week later in the year, which is our plan this year as well.

HF: Will the GSA be doing anything for Coming Out Day or Spirit Day?

Sklarwitz: To recognize Coming Out Day, I sent the faculty and staff a set of resources for supporting LGBTQ+ students and families, with a focus on how to "come out" as an ally. This included tutorials for changing Zoom names/pronouns and adding email signatures, a variety of Pride flag options to be displayed in physical and virtual spaces, some information about how to use inclusive language and how to avoid heteronormative language, and some specific content area curriculum resources for making a more LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum.

HF: Has the GSA been providing support to students who may be in quarantine with non-supportive families or people to whom they are not out?

Sklarwitz: Since clubs and co-curricular activities are just getting launched now, this support has been happening at an individual level, but not as a club.

HF: Has the GSA been providing support for trans/gender non-conforming students with remote learning, for example by encouraging pronouns in Zoom names or ways to avoid deadnaming students?

Sklarwitz: This support has been being provided by me as the GSA advisor for my colleagues and from the administration, but not so much from the students in the club.

HF: On that subject, has the GSA done anything to educate/support teachers on this issue? (For example, I have teacher friends at other schools who use a Google form to find out students' pronouns/names, and with whom they can use this name/pronoun)

Sklarwitz: This type of guidance is part of what I have provided for teachers already this year (and in past years). We will continue this teacher education throughout the fall and the school year.