Eat Ice Cream to Benefit GLSEN Connecticut on October 11th
Thanks to our friends at the Imperial Sovereign Court of All Connecticut, and the wonderful folks at Friendly's in Newington!
If you print out the attached certificate and bring it with you ONLY on October 11th to the Friendly's at 3420 Berlin Turnpike in Newington, the ISC will receive a donation of 20% of your check!
As one of this year's beneficiaries of the ISC's generosity, along with
|
SAFE Training: October 29 - 30
|
October is LGBT History Month
GLSEN's research also shows that providing an LGBT-inclusive curriculum can promote respect for all and improve LGBT students' school experiences.
To assist with this we suggest you check out the resources offered by The Equality Forum. They provide 31 LGBT icons for each of the 31 days of October. Icons are selected for their accomplishments in their field of endeavor, their status as a national hero or their significant contributions to LGBT equality. Click here to watch videos and access more information about each icon.
We also highly recommend exploring Unheard Voices, an oral history and curriculum project created through the collaboration of GLSEN, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and StoryCorps. At the core of the program are brief audio interviews with individuals who bore witness to or helped shape LGBT history in some way. Please click here for more information, including student and educator resources for both middle and high school levels.
|
from 8:30am - 4:00pm at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
All parents/guardians, teachers, administrators and school staff should attend!
We will never close the achievement gap in a meaningful way until we incorporate a culturally responsive education. And we will not achieve that "just society", espoused by the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and other great activists until we start teaching children at a young age the importance of learning to celebrate our differences and live together in harmony.
We bring to the NECME conference this year outstanding individuals who are making a difference in helping advance social justice and educational equity.
Please click here for more information about and registration for this valuable conference. And remember - the entire conference is FREE!
|
Save The Date: Second Annual Safe Schools Summit
April 6th, 2013 We'll share more details soon, but please save the date for GLSEN Connecticut's second annual Safe Schools Summit! It's being held once again at Common Ground High School in New Haven on Saturday, April 6th, 2013 from 9:00am - 5:00pm.
|
Educator Retreat
for LGBTQ educators and allies who work in pre-K - 12 schools
Provincetown, MA
Jan. 25-27, 2013
- Inspiring Respect- Promoting Awareness- Exploring Teaching
Strategies- Empowering your
GSA
|
|
| Greetings!,
We're so happy that once again GLSEN's Ally Week is upon us! From October 15th-19th, 2012, Ally Week is a week for students to identify, support and celebrate allies against anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) language, bullying and harassment in America's schools.
GLSEN's research shows that the presence of educators who are supportive of LGBT students can have a positive impact on their school experiences of as well as their psychological well-being. And, as you will read below in letters from one of our amazing student leaders, and
 | |
Student Organizing Allies 2012
|
from one of our Board members, Allies can create a powerful and lasting personal impact far beyond anything this research can convey.
If you are a member of a GSA we encourage you to click here to register your GSA with Ally Week so you will be included among the huge number of GSAs that are participating nationwide. And, click here for all kinds of downloadable and resources you can print and use to help make your Ally Week participation a success.
If you are an educator, we hope you'll check out the Educator's Guide to Ally Week that is filled with advice, tips and lesson plans of all types. Plus, if you have your Safe Space Kit handy, remember that it features the Guide to Being an Ally, which provides concrete strategies for supporting LGBT students, educating about anti-LGBT bias and advocating for changes in your school.
Since you are reading this newsletter we know that you are already an Ally to LGBT youth in Connecticut's schools, which is truly something to celebrate! Click here to see brief video statements by other Allies. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of Connecticut's students - even those whom you do not know directly. Sometimes just learning the fact that we have almost 1700 people on our mailing list - and realizing that each of you are Allies - brings a huge smile of delight onto a very surprised face!
And hopefully, our work together will bolster or inspire students who courageously choose to come out on National Coming Out Day, this Thursday, October 11th. We salute and thank each one of you for continuing to work with us to make Connecticut's schools safe for all students.
Leif Mitchell and Liane Roseman
Co-Chairs, GLSEN Connecticut
|
Reflections from Jeff Bianco
Autumn in Connecticut is always breathtaking to me. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to witness Mother Nature in what I consider the peak of her beauty. For me, autumn has always signified growth, wisdom and enlightenment. The change of colors proves to us that  there is a profound beauty in maturing, whether in age, wisdom or experience. What a perfect time of year to celebrate two significant events in the LGBT community: National Coming Out Day and Ally Week.
When I was in high school, I could not imagine having the strength and courage of many of today's high school - or even middle school - students. Coming out just wasn't a safe option. And though we have a long way to go, we have come so far. More and more students feel confident and safe enough to express who they are. Like Mother Nature in autumn, they let their brightest and boldest colors show. For others, that experience comes later in life, but how wonderful and liberating that it does. On October 11th, whether you are an ally, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, it is so important to come out in some way, shape or form.
And then there are our allies. What would the mission of making schools safe for all, or any mission of LGBT equality, be without our allies? Without them, we'd be leaps behind where we are now. Allies validate our cause so that we are no longer just an LGBT interest group with an agenda, but rather a united front of all kinds of people who just want what is right: safe schools and, of course, safe environments for everyone.
As the week of October 15th-19th approaches, I encourage those of us who are members of the LGBT community to take a moment and thank an ally who has made a difference in your life. Thank them for having the courage to speak up against injustice that faces LGBT youth or adults. And, for those of you who are allies, I'd like to say both from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of GLSEN Connecticut's Board of Directors, thank you for all that you have done. We could not achieve nearly as much without you.
Peace and Blessings,
Jeff Bianco
Treasurer
|
Be An Ally. Be The Change.
By Roberto Diaz
Students of Color Organizing (SOCO) Team Student Coordinator
& GLSEN Student Ambassador
My name is Roberto Diaz, and I go to Vinal Technical High School in Middletown. I got involved with GLSEN during my sophomore year when I received an e-mail from a friend encouraging me to apply for GLSEN Connecticut's Students of Color Organizing (SOCO) Team. At the time, I was witnessing a lot of racism and getting bullied because  of my sexual orientation. I didn't have a support group or anyone to really help me, let alone talk to about racism, because there weren't a lot of people of color in my school who would understand. Once I read through the SOCO application, I decided that the team would really offer me a big support group, and could offer a helping hand to me and others struggling with homophobia and racism.
After I applied, I received an e-mail saying I was chosen to be a member of GLSEN Connecticut's SOCO team. Words cannot describe the relief and excitement I felt. I was finally going to be a part of something that was not only going to help myself but others who were going through similar experiences with prejudice and discrimination based on race and sexual orientation. I also applied and was chosen for the GLSEN Student Ambassadors program.
Through the GLSEN Student Ambassadors program, I learned how to use the media, such as Internet and video, to send out a positive message to support bullied and harassed students everywhere. Now that I've seen what SOCO and the Student Ambassadors program can do for students, I tell all my friends to apply and get involved with GLSEN. Not only is GLSEN helping others make their schools safer, but it is also helping students find the leader they have inside them.
I've known I was different since I was in Kindergarten. As the years went by and I started to realize I was gay, I grew up not knowing why kids treated me differently and always called me names. I felt like I could never fit in. Once I got into 5th grade, I came out. I thought that maybe if they all knew I was gay, they would stop bullying me.
Unfortunately, once everyone knew, things didn't seem to get better. Kids started to push me into lockers, call me words like "faggot" and "fruit-cake," and post insulting things about me on MySpace. I was scared to go into the boy's locker room because I was afraid the other boys would think I was looking at them sexually. Instead, all I would do when entering the boy's locker room is sit in a corner, look at the floor, and wish I was "normal."
Once I entered middle school, my experiences with bullying and harassment just seemed to get even worse. The school decided to split the boys and girls up in the lunch room. I hated the segregation of girls and boys. When I sat with all the boys, they would make non-stop jokes about me and call me hurtful names. So, I would get into the habit of eating my lunch quickly, leaving the cafeteria, and hiding under the stairs until lunch was over. I would hide every single day during lunch just so I wouldn't have to sit with the boys at the cafe. At times, I would cry and wish I could just sit with the girls, who I felt much more comfortable sitting with, but I knew my school would not allow it.
Every time I came home from school, I locked myself in my room and just wished I was dead. I was fed up with all the bullying. At one point, I even tried taking my own life. I thought maybe if I was gone, I wouldn't be so much trouble to anyone and the bullying and harassment would finally end. I felt so alone with no one to talk to and no one to understand what I was going through.
If only I had an ally, someone who would stick up for me and tell the bully that bullying was not right. If there had been one ally who was there for me, maybe I wouldn't have had to put up with so much bullying and harassment. This is why we need more allies: to help those students who are getting bulled and need someone to have their backs. Thanks to GLSEN Connecticut, my fellow allies and I are working hard to get more people involved and make schools safer for all students.
At my school, my GSA is celebrating Ally Week by thanking those who are allies and use their voice to empower others. We're celebrating those people who stick up for others who are getting bullied because they're LGBT. My GSA is also doing workshops for the school to educate students about bullying and ways to prevent it on campus. Expressing gratitude for our allies is very important because it shows them that we appreciate all the things they do to stop bullying on a daily basis. It takes a lot of courage to be an ally; allies help us get closer to a better place for LGBT students and their allies. Because I know how it feels to be bullied and I want it to stop, I will continue to work with GLSEN and GLSEN Connecticut to help make our schools more affirming and safe spaces for all youth.
|
Calling All Student Leaders:
Why You Should Join Our Student Organizing Team!
By Alberto Cifuentes, Jr. 
Student Organizing Adult Coordinator
I've asked many of our current and former student leaders why they joined our Student Organizing (Student Org.) Team and are so committed to our mission of making schools safer for all students regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Here are the top five reasons:
- Peer-to-Peer Education: 2nd-year Jump-Start Student Leader Skylar Liam Spear states, "I like to be involved in LGBTQ activism; the Jump-Start Team is a great opportunity to get involved." Of course, you don't have to be an activist or "natural-born" leader to join. Many members have been able to enhance their leadership skills by learning from other members and cultivating skills they already have.
- Social Connections: By joining the team, you'll meet students of diverse ages, backgrounds, and experiences from all across the state. Moreover, you'll get to network and share strategies when it comes to anti-bullying/harassment activities and programs for your school or GSA.
- Safe Space: You'll have the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone in a safe and affirming space. Indeed, our team values of respect, honesty, and compassion for all involved have been a big part of our success.
- Fun: Many members will tell you there has never been a dull moment on our team. We've done numerous workshops at the annual True Colors Conference, our chapter's Safe School Summit, and other community meetings. We also table and speak at schools and various community organizations. Plus, we provide FREE food and giveaways at every meeting!
- Be Yourself: Julian Arias, our 2nd-year Jump-Start Student Coordinator, says, "We are like a family; we treat everyone equally and we support everyone as much as we can." We encourage all our student leaders to be themselves and empower their peers to be the change they wish to see in the world.
Want to join our fantastic team? Apply now by going to our Student Org. page! Middle school and high school students (Gr. 6-12) are welcome to apply and may choose to join either the Jump-Start Student Leadership Team, a team focused on making middle schools safer for LGBT students and their allies, or the Students of Color Organizing (SOCO) Team, which will be creating a website to support LGBT students of color and their allies. All applications are due Monday, Oct. 15, via e-mail.
Want to talk with our team? You can request to attend our virtual open house on Sunday, Oct. 14, 8-9pm, via conference call/web by e-mailing at least two days (48 hrs.) before the call date.
One of the outcomes of joining the team is that you'll be part of a great support network that will last you beyond middle and high school. Jump-Start Student Leader alumna (2011-12) Alta McKinney says it best: "I just really love that I can be with amazing, supportive people and that I've learned how to make a difference in the LGBT community and beyond."
|
|
|
|
|
