GSA: Making a Difference

By Rachel Armany

What makes an alliance differ from an average group of people is the united front that is shared among anyone who joins. Each member strives to respect and support one another, and this idea shines through Stoughton High School’s Gay/Straight Alliance.

Gay/Straight alliance is an advisor/youth-led organization for students interested in maintaining a healthy environment in the school for students in the LGBTQAI+ community. There are many GSA groups throughout schools all over the U.S, including Stoughton.

GSA or “spectrum” is one of the largest after-school clubs containing members of varying sexualities, genders, ethnicities, religions, cultures, etc. Sarah Almajed, a junior from Stoughton high, has been a GSA member for several years. When asked what “spectrum” means to her, she expressed her endearment towards the group, “We’re all like a family to be honest, like if one of us needs help we’ll help them out because that’s what the alliance is there for…Spectrum reminds me of a rainbow and how a spectrum contains everything, so if you’re gay, bi, lesbian, trans, or even into goats we love you!”

Stoughton High’s GSA has been running for various years and incorporates many different activities during weekly meetings. Activities such as art, games, fundraising, group bonding, and field trips to places like the Pride Parade in Boston. In regards to what being in GSA is like, Joseph Souto, a junior from Stoughton High said, “I think there is a sort of fluidity with it, like its not a rigid group of people and I don’t have to feel uncomfortable about myself when I’m there, its an open place.”

 Another component of an alliance that makes it unique is the leadership behind it. In this case, the GSA advisor Barbara Meyer along with spectrum President Ryan Egan. Meyer has been the advisor for several years, and runs the group equally with Egan and the other GSA officers sharing responsibilities. When asked what she enjoys about it, she said, “my favorite thing is supporting the LGBT community and helping students who might feel alone or disenfranchised feel like they have a voice and support, my second favorite thing is the fun, its just a fun group of kids, it always has been. They’re just fun and excited and they like to be different and I like different, so its fun for me.”

Along with her position in GSA, Meyer is overall an essential ally in the school, and her reasoning behind this was that she considers herself a “good empathizer, [she] can put [herself] through other peoples shoes very easily by having seen a good friend go through a rough time while coming out, [she] can use that to help others be safer and feel better about themselves.” When asked about other allies in the school, she recognized David Jerome, a math teacher at Stoughton High, and Dr. Marguerite Rizzi, the superintendent of schools, saying that they are “fabulous.”

 Another part of being the spectrum advisor that Meyer enjoys is seeing the amount of teachers and faculty that are supporters, who strive to make Stoughton High a safer place. This is not only important to Meyer and the members of spectrum, but beneficial to the LGBTQAI+ community as a whole.