By ROSHNI SUBRAMONIAN
Jericho High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club celebrated National Coming Out Day with a bake sale and panel discussion comprised of speakers who shared their coming out stories with students and staff from the middle and high schools.
The GSA bake sale earned $187. GSA adviser and English teacher Ms. D’Antonio was very satisfied with how the bake sale turned out. She said, “The bake sale was incredibly successful. The club was riding an awesome wave from the morning after decorating the front lobby, and it spilled over into the bake sale. Many students baked or brought items to share and it was excellent to celebrate National Coming Out Day in this way.”
The panel was held during periods 10 and 11 in the Middle School Library. At the panel, middle school and high school GSA members had the opportunity to interact with six members of the LGBTQ+ community and hear their coming out stories. Jericho alumnus Lambert Liu, who was a member of GSA during its earlier days, spoke about how GSA helped his coming out process. Even though Jericho High School’s GSA in 2003 was small, he and his friends still felt they had a supportive and welcoming community to help deal with the bullying they faced from peers.
After each of the panelists shared their coming out stories, students were encouraged to ask questions and further interact. Many topics were covered including struggles they faced, what signs made them feel different, how they handled coming out, advice on how to come out to parents and what the panelists wished they had known when they were coming out. The panelists emphasized the importance of compassion and confidence when coming out to others.
Junior Steven G. attended the event and said, “I really enjoyed the panel but one thing that really impressed me was how understanding the spokespeople were towards their parents and how they tolerated them. I think that is something important for many people to understand: that tolerance leads to acceptance. No one is going to change their opinion on homosexuality or gender overnight. I think it’s important that although someone may attack you with hate, a response of tolerance leads to love and compassion.”
Club president senior Jacklyn Y. encourages more people to join GSA, regardless of their orientation. “The Gay Straight Alliance is dedicated to people coming together and sharing their personal experiences. We’re hoping to build a community for all Jericho students to come and be themselves without worry or fear,” she said.
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