Photo by Jack Tumpowsky
By Nikta Mozhgani
Features Contributor
“That’s so gay” and “you act like a girl” are common phrases that are used accidently throughout the day. Numerous people do not realize the impact that these words can have on their peers, often making them feel excluded from their own community.
In 1991, students at Newton South became the first high schoolers to discuss the impacts of these phrases that diminished someone’s gender or sexuality. Before this, Bob Parlin, a teacher at Newton South and the founder and advisor of the Gender and Sexuality Awareness (GSA) club, said that a number of the faculty in the Human Differences Committee believed that there were no problems about gay issues and that Newton South did not have any gay students. Their mindset was that people should avoid talking about these issues because many people can become upset or uncomfortable.
Feeling concerned that this type of attitude at South would not help students in crisis and who needed support, Parlin sat down with a junior and decided to form the first GSA, then the gay-straight alliance, high school club in the country in order to talk about gender and sexuality. Fifty-five students showed up to the first meeting and since then many people continue to do so, but there are still some misconceptions about the club.
Many people at South believe that GSA, the gender sexuality association, is just for gay people, but this stereotype is completely wrong. GSA is a unique club at South that has people of all different grades, genders, and sexualities who talk about issues revolving around the LGBTQ+, lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight, and transgender, communities. Tess Gordon, a junior, says that it is a chance for “people who are going through similar experiences come together to talk about it and talk about issues relating to it throughout the world.”
It is an important club to have at school because it is one of the many clubs that serves as an outlet to help everyone feel welcome. An anonymous upperclassman added that she found it easy to talk about her problems in GSA because it was a safe space.
“For many people, it is the only time to express our identities,” she said. “Some people can’t talk about it with their parents or anyone else. It is important for people to have that space”.
Over the years, the club has made a lasting impact on the lives of individuals in a way that most other clubs or communities within South are not able to achieve. For instance, GSA has helped some students come out to their peers and transition with a support system behind them.
Ashadieeyah Gaffney, a senior, talked about how the club made coming out to her peers much easier.
“Before I came out I would use my name and pronouns that I preferred in GSA before I was doing it out in the rest of the school,” Gaffney said. “As terrifying as it was, it was a lot less terrifying than going straight to the rest of the school.”
Many teachers have also found that this club makes a difference in the South community. For example, Mr. Parlin mentioned a teacher who transitioned during her time at South.
“Five years ago we had a transgender teacher who transformed from male to female and everyone felt fine about it,” Parlin said. “The fact that could happen here with no problems is a testament to what the GSA has done.”
Currently, the GSA continues to strive to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. An anonymous freshman explained how GSA recently had a meeting with the Health and Wellness Department discussing how they can change the curriculum to make it more inclusive.
“We had a meeting to change the textbook and curriculum for freshman health class because it wasn’t inclusive,” she said. “We raised awareness to the teachers that they might say something offensive without meaning it.”
In addition to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights on the schoolwide scale, the GSA also provides an important community that brings all of the students in the club together. Gordon, in particular, added that GSA helped her find people going through the same situations as her. In addition, she explained how the club is not allowed to tell anyone that you have joined in order to create a safe environment.
“In the GSA you might find someone who understands something really important to you that I don’t think you would get in another club,” Gordon explained. “It is weird and different from other clubs because we are not allowed to say who is in the club outside of the club.”
This club also provides life lessons that many students take away and apply to their everyday lives. An anonymous upperclassman talked about the resilience that she has learned from the GSA.
“There are always going to be people who take pleasure in your misery, people who are mean for no good reason and will try and make your life bad,” she said. “And you shouldn’t let those people get to you. You should try to forget. There will also be people who are good and you have to find that good.”
An anonymous freshman added that “You can always find a group of people that will accept you and you can always change things. It doesn’t have to stay the same.”
GSA welcomes anyone who wants to be allies, communicate, or make a difference in the world surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. All you have to do is go to Mr. Parlin’s room during Monday J blocks and you can join the support, love, and warm community that this club has to offer.
