Message from:
The Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS, PO Box 2345, Malta, NY 12020
John Myers, Director of Operations and Programs
Email to:SARATOGANY@aol.com
The Real or Perceived Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Student Protection Project

FYI
ALGONQUIN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
79 Bartlett St
Northborough, Massachusetts 01532
Office:(508) 351-7010
Fax:(508) 393-9226

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Worcester Telegram & Gazette, March 22, 2002
Box 15012, Worcester, MA, 01615
(Fax:508-793-9166 ) (E-Mail:letters@telegram.com )
( http://www.telegram.com )

Gay students at Algonquin finding greater acceptance

By Sandy Quadros Bowles, Telegram & Gazette Staff

NORTHBORO - It's OK to be whoever you are.

That is the message that students in the recently re-established Gay-Straight Alliance at Algonquin Regional High School want to share with their fellow students. The group, which had briefly been in existence in the mid-1990s, was revived last fall.

The alliance promotes tolerance of all lifestyles - gay, straight, bisexual or transgender.

"Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual issues are an ongoing part of our culture," the group's mission statement reads. "Therefore, our mission is to support, educate and promote an environment that is safe and comfortable for all members of the Algonquin community."

The state Department of Education encourages gay-straight alliances through its "Safe Schools Program" for gay and lesbian students.

The program encourages Massachusetts schools to develop and maintain anti-harassment policies which include sexual orientation; provide training for school personnel; develop school-based groups for gay, lesbian and heterosexual students; and provide support for families of lesbian and gay students.

A 1999 survey shows that suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts among gay students have declined in schools that provide gay-straight alliances, according to Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the Department of Education, which sponsored the Youth Risk Behavior survey.

"We need to keep all of our students safe," Mr. Palumbo said. "Students can't learn if they're not safe. We wanted to make sure that no group was specifically targeted" for discrimination based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or any other reason.

Keeping students safe is a key component of the alliance's "Safe Space" program. About 100 "Safe Space" stickers have been distributed to teachers and staff members at Algonquin.

By placing these stickers on their classroom doors, teachers ensure that the room will be a place where gay students can feel safe from harassment and from offensive language. "The faculty has been incredibly supportive," said student Coleen Motyl-Szary.

Stephen Goldman and Mary Barnett are the group's faculty advisers.

The alliance, which includes gay and straight students, meets weekly to talk and to watch videos with themes related to the alliance's goals. They are also planning an April assembly on gay rights and tolerance.

This assembly, like the alliance itself, is "spreading the word it's not bad to be who you are," Ms. Motyl-Szary said. "We're spreading tolerance throughout our school and creating a safe place for people."

Not all students have been supportive of the alliance, its members said. Ms. Motyl-Szary said all of the group's posters were torn down the day after they were put up.

Despite some setbacks, society is more accepting of homosexuality now than it was 10 or 20 years ago, alliance members said. They look forward to the day when anti-gay epithets will be as unacceptable as racial slurs.

People don't have to agree with someone's lifestyle to be accepting, said student Joy Long. "We just want people to understand they do not have the right to invade someone's space," she said.
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John Myers
Director of Operations and Programs
(518) 587-0176

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