Editor’s Note: Several names have been withheld and/or changed.
Students have recently re-grouped to stand against a tired school issue as old as the basics that are taught between these walls, and it goes by the name of homosexual harassment. It’s a safe assumption to say everyone knows someone who is gay, or at the very least, they know someone who knows someone who is.The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) was re-formed in fall 2008 by a group of TAMIU students looking to act as a support/awareness group interested in allying the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) and straight communities in Laredo. Charlotte Jackson, GSA President, headed the reform during the 2008-09 academic year.Jackson developed an interest in the club because of personal experiences and a passion for equality. According to Jackson, she wanted to create a resource for GLBT students.”The only way I feel I can make a difference is possibly through this group. … Hopefully we can rebuild and shape up this organization for a better tomorrow for the gay community.”GSA has faced more than a few road blocks with room scheduling difficulties, conflicting membership schedules, and overall low attendance. “It’s really hard to start an organization when so many people are against it or don’t care enough to help out,” said a recent member of GSA who wished to go by Ramirez.Ramirez joined the organization early 2009 because he believed he would be helping others that were in situations that he had been all too familiar with.”I know what it feels like to be struggling and have no one to turn to. No one should be alone. Not everyone’s parents take it well.”Others joined because of the unfair treatment they believed they received.”He held my hand as innocent as any straight couple would be doing. Now [they] were staring at us and had the most horrible look on their face as if they were disgusted with seeing us holding on to each other,” expressed another GSA member. “In the end they got to say what they wanted to say, and I had to leave.” In addition to being an outreach group, GSA was designed to protect its members against an, all too often, unreceptive environment.”I was a freshman the first time I did the Day of Silence and got punched in the stomach, hard. And yes, it was at school,” said Edna Lopez, a fellow GSA member. “To say there are no problems is ridiculous.”The Day of Silence is an annually celebrated student-led day of action where students take a vow of silence to bring awareness to name-calling, bullying, and harassment experienced by GLBT students and their friends.However, due to the lack of student involvement and interest, TAMIU’s GSA President and adviser have come to the decision to cease meetings and plans for a school wide Day of Silence for the time being in preparation for the upcoming school year.Anyone interested in receiving information or joining GSA can send emails to Charlotte Jackson at gsa@students.tamiu.edu.