by Maddie Thomas March 16, 2022
This article is part of an ongoing series highlighting clubs at the high school that are making waves in the school community, as well as in the broader local, state, and national culture. If you have a club you would like to talk about, please contact us by using your personal email to email centervillejournalism@gmail.com or by simply using the form embedded in this website!
I recently had a conversation with Tee Weathers, who uses he/they pronouns, regarding the GSA at Centerville High School. They are the president of the club and spoke about the mission of the club as well as some of its exciting new ventures.
Some students might not know what GSA stands for. Tee explained that “we recently changed the acronym from Gay-Straight Alliance” -- the more traditional acronym for these clubs across the country -- “to Gender-Sexuality Alliance to be more inclusive of different identities.” After all, the queer community includes not only gay men but also lesbians, bisexual people, transgender and nonbinary people, and a whole host of other identities that don’t fit neatly into the boxes society has constructed.
As President of the club and alongside other members of the GSA leadership team, Tee represents the club to others, helps plan activities, and communicates with outside organizations to advocate for positive change that benefits queer students. Tee sees the club as a safe space within the high school. Along with showing queer students they are not alone and building community spaces, the club also serves to teach kids how to be advocates and to argue for policies that will protect them and others.
If you’ve been paying attention at the high school lately, you may have noticed some concerning events related to prejudice and discrimination. Tee mentioned that although they are not aware of any recent serious homophobia- or transphobia-related physical violence at the high school, the members of GSA (including the author) have experienced almost constant microaggressions from various people at the high school. In the school context, these are harms that add up over time, like intentional misgendering, assuming pronouns, or even “casual” mentions of sexuality- and gender-related slurs by students who are not part of the community. Despite the continued efforts by the GSA leadership team to put up more posters for the GSA, the posters continue to be torn down on a regular basis.
The GSA placed baskets of stickers near teachers’ and staff’s mailboxes in each unit. Unfortunately, the stickers were stolen from the West Unit and some teachers expressed concerns about putting the stickers on their doors- a few adults even went so far as to equate gay advocacy with hate speech. It’s a tough life being queer in the Midwest.
Tee explained, though, that Mr. Carroll has supported the GSA every step of the way- “For the students he is able to catch on camera, he does give consequences.” Tee also gives his input, and passes on the input of all members of the Centerville GSA, about important issues for queer teens at Centerville. Representatives of the GSA have met with Mr. Carroll a few times this year to convey that input. Mx. Weathers is also a student representative for the teacher/staff-run Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and brings the students’ voice to the conversations teachers are having about an equitable educational environment.
The club has been very active this year; Tee themself recently met with the National Conference for Community and Justice of Greater Dayton (NCCJ). Soon, the GSA will be launching a T-shirt fundraiser for charity. Proceeds from the sale will go to Daybreak and similar charities.
To those who are unsure about joining GSA, Tee recommends that they try it out! The meetings are every Thursday after school in E256, Mr. Knupp’s room. Every other Thursday is an informational meeting- recent topics have included Black LGBTQ history and LGBTQ mental health. In between, there are more relaxed meetings in which members play fun games and watch movies, et cetera. The club is always open to more ideas for activities at meetings. All students are encouraged to attend meetings as long as they are respectful to the LGBTQ community; to those who do not consider themselves part of the community, Tee advises that they also familiarize themselves with issues relating to the LGBTQ community, different identities within the queer umbrella, and different pride flags.