ENGLEWOOD — Chicago's North Side might be home to the wildly popular Pride parade, but teens at Englewood's Lindblom High School want to make it clear that there is a thriving LGBTQ community on the city's South Side as well.
A Gay-Straight Alliance was created this year by students at the Englewood school who said it was needed to raise awareness about the community and create a safe space for those who identify as gay or transgender.
“We’re here, and I feel as though we’re ready to tackle different problems around the school,” said student Nathan Petithomme, adding the perception oftentimes is that there aren’t gay teens on the South Side.
"There are gay kids on the South Side, too," he said.
The student organization hosted three events last week for Ally Week, a student-organized action that allows all students to engage in a national conversation about what it means to be an ally.
They hosted a “How To Be An Ally Workshop,” held a social movie night where they watched “Rent,” and displayed an art gallery with student-submitted work. The week concluded with an open house at the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance's statewide event. Attendees discussed what they did during Ally Week.
Students submitted art for the Ally Art Gallery. [Piece produced by Jessica Plascencia]
Petithomme said the week was really about spreading awareness.
The group's faculty sponsor, Bryan Meeker said organizers of the state event told them the Lindblom alliance is a model group and should be used to help other schools.
Petithomme said he wants to go into middle schools and show them how to organize their own group.
Group member Ciara Morton, 15, said she wants the organization to become more visible around the school for the entire year, not just a week.
“We are here, and we participate in the same clubs as you, the same sports as you,” she said. “We are just the same as you.”
The students plan to work with other student organizations throughout the school year. They want to get involved with cultural events, such as Hispanic Heritage Month and Islamic Heritage Month. They said they are thinking of introducing historic figures who identify as part of the LGBTQ community and are raising money for a trip to Boystown.
Ashunti Westbrook, 16, said she hopes the alliance can take an active role in the school.
“I want it to be like we are participants and included in all the different things that Lindblom does,” she said. “I don’t want [the alliance] to be just a September thing.”
Besides putting on the events, the organization has provided sensitivity training for its teachers. Meeker said before classes began, a group of members led a sensitivity training workshop for teachers where they were given scenarios and shown the best way to deal with a student who comes out to them and how to respond to a racial slur made in class.
Science teacher Katie Lindeman said she appreciated the training. Before coming to Lindblom, she had been in five other schools, and this was the first time a class on this topic was taught.
“To have it be led by students, I thought that was very powerful,” she said.
The students are selling safe zone stickers. Teachers are encouraged to put the stickers on their doors as a symbol that their classrooms are a safe space to discuss their sexual identity and orientation.
The students said overall they feel accepted and welcomed at Lindblom, but it’s nice to have a group of their own. This year they also have a colloquium of 25 students that meets on Wednesdays.
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