10 [ Out in the Mountains |July 2000 = opinion = VOICES FROM THE Getting Started head off to the final workshop. This has been one of the most interesting years of my life, to say the least, and not just because I’m graduating and leaving for college. Largely, it’s been because my major focus was starting a Gay/Straight Alliance at my high school. Everyone I spoke to told me it was a great idea, and I want- ed to put my all into it. But as senior years tend to do, mine got busy fast. Announcements needed to be ordered, measure- ments for cap and gown had to be taken, and, of course, end- less applications to colleges had to be filled out. With all these things moving along, and with the baggage they attached to my brain, the idea of a GSA got evicted pretty quickly. I continued like this for a month or so, until the chance came to attend the LEAD Conference. A friend of mine gladly gave up her Saturday morning to attend with me, so on a rnid— October day, we climbed into my car and headed for the cam- pus of Vermont Technical College. Once there, we were bom- barded with stickers and flyers supporting everything from the National Organization for Women to organizations look- ing to ban nuclear power. It was a bit overwhelming: tons of petitions to sign (and tons of free pencilsl). I almost didn’t know what to do with all this new information I was taking in — before the guest speakers. After the general sessions with the featured speakers, we got to head off to our respec- ‘tive group topics. The first we attended was about women in film, but the one I was really looking forward to was the last one on starting and maintain- ing a GSA. The lady talking about film was nice, as was the midday speaker, but I was relieved when the time came to As my friend and I walked into the room I suddenly felt extremely comfortable, more so than I had all day. The room was full of all types of people, the kind of environment in which I’m most comfortable. (I’ve learned that I get anxious around people who are too much like me.) The workshop was led by a group of students and advisors from Outright Vermont. Paperwork was passed out, most of which was going to be very useful. I MOUNTAINS by kristen bisaillon ""5. We didn’t have to deal with these frustrations alone; our dear friend and advisor Matthew helped us a lot along the way. He helped us contact a lawyer from GLAD. She let us know we needed to talk to the school calmly, tell them that we had sought legal help, and explain that by telling us “no,” they were discriminating. We took her advice, and of course, at this point, the SAP was will- ing to negotiate. They wanted us to attend some of their meet- ings to plead our case; they All I can say is I hope they learned not underestimate the power of angered teenagers. learned a lot that afternoon, and walked out with a bag full of flyers and papers that I hoped would lead me on the right path to starting the GSA. When we left that day, the GSA was again at the front of my brain. ' ' _ The following Monday, we returned to school with the GSA our goal; we weren’t going to stop until we got it. We whipped out our trusty “Steps to starting a school club” sheet; Step One was to seek out the official school rules for starting a club. So out came the school handbook. The only rule we found was that we had to get permission from the Student Assistance Program. This is where the fun began. When we approached them, they basically told us no. You can imagine how upset we were — although I don’t think they imagined how upset we were. All I can say is I hope they learned not to underesti- mate the power, of angered teenagers. swore that they were there to help us. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but after two months, I was losing patience. My friend and I attended a meeting early in January, and made what they later told me was a passionate statement of reasons to start the club. Yet they still wanted us to come back at the next meeting, a month away. We agreed, but when we consulted our lawyer again she said they were stalling. So we took her advice and set a date for the first meet- ing of Mill River Gay/Straight Alliance. We wrote a letter, which we sent to our principal, the SAP office, the head of the SAP board, and the superinten- dent of schools. It didn’t get as far as the superintendent. Once a copy got to the head of the SAP she told us to flat—out stop, and that we needed to set up a meeting with her for a talk. We settled on the next afternoon during sixth period. But before we could get there, the princi- pal called us into his office for Bill Desautels Realtor, CRS Serving the real estate needs of our community North Professionals Each Office Independently Owned and Operated 553 Roosevelt Highway. Ste 201 Colchester, Vermont 05446 Ofice: 802-655-3333 X17 Toll Free: 800-639-4520 X17 E-Mail: billyvt@aol.com Condoguy.com what turned into a two—and-a- half-hour meeting about pretty much nothing. We talked about how he had a neighbor who was “that way," and that he was very nice. He continued to tell us _how this neighbor was in his daughter’s wedding and they still visit once in a while. About two hours into the meeting, he got to the point and asked us why we wanted this group. We explained to him that the purpose of‘ a Gay/Straight alliance, especial- ly at our school, would be edu- cate people in the community, and to act as a support group for those who need it. He accepted our answer, and pro- ceeded to say that it seemed like the two of us had gotten a lot of support from people in our lives, and he understood why we were so adamant about starting the group. He also wanted to know, and I quote, how long we’d “been the way” we are. I proceeded to explain that this was exactly the point of the group, to block out~stereo— types like the one that had just come out of his mouth. I asked him why he assumed that, just Mu|_tiple choices. a. Offset Printing b. High Volume Copying c. Mailing Services d. Desktop Publishing e. All of the Above Consider this: *— Already have a Blender; Toaster and Two Coffee Pots Outright Vermont’s “Civil Union Registry” Call today for more details about how you can A support Vermont’s GLBTQ youth by registering your civil e-mail: Outright@aol.com because two women wanted to start a Gay/Straight Alliance, they, too, were gay. He didn’t answer. Instead, he changed the subject. I don’t remember much of the rest of the meet- ing; I tried to, and succeeded in, blocking out the sound of his voice. I do know that some- where along the line, he men- tioned something about squir- rels. Go figure. Wevalso had our meeting with the head of the SAP that afternoon. That was a negotiat- ing period. We talked for a good 45 minutes, and finally _ managed to. come to an agree- ment. We could have our club, but couldn’t call it a GSA. Understandable; the labels that come along with a GSA were exactly what we were trying to get rid of. So we call it the Diversity Group. That worked for me; all we had to do was find an advisor, which didn’t take long. Our chemistry teacher gladly devoted every Thursday to us for the rest of the school year. In the end, we didn’t accom- plish as much as I’d hoped. But I know that next year, they won’t have to start from scratch, and we have notes on several projects they can take on. The only thing I regret is that I won’t be there to see the group flourish. I do feel, though, that I’ve made a differ- ence at that school; even thought it may be"a smallone, it is still a difference. Kristen Bisaillon lives in Wallingford. V §VPM7 VALLEY PRINT 8MAIL Call Sarah at 802.482.2995 PO. Box 147 171 Commerce Street Hinesburg, Vermont sharring@vpminc.com union with Outright. 802-865-9677