Thank you Susan,
When you open your mind & open your heart & accept people for WHO they are, not WHAT label they have been marked with, then the world offers endless possibilities for everyone and we are all better for it. Scott must be very proud of his mother as I am sure you are of him..Equality, tolerence , acceptance and respect. Something we should all teach our children..

This is great! Thank you for what you've done, Susan.

I commend you and Scott for yor compassion, foresight and courage.
Respectfully,
Rob Perpall

Why are people so obsessed with their genitals and how we use them and where we put them? This in your face constant media push for acceptance I fear will cause a backlash. This is something I would hate to see! No matter what channel you watch or paper you read it is there. Gay...homosexual....news programs....talk shows....radio and TV. People have had enough!
Kids should be taught to have tolerance for everyone....period. But this seems to be a little over the top.
If a student wanted to start a Christian club in school, he would be suspended and vilified.
Double standard? Absolutley!

Chris, While you espouse tolerence, your intolerance and lack of compassion is showing..shame on you. There is no back lash from knowledge, these young men and women have every right to find a place where they can discuss, emote and discuss issues that are important to them ,a place with common ground and acceptance. If forming a club at school helps them feel better about WHO they are not WHAT their orientation is and helps them feel comfortable intheir own skin and have the ability to speak openly about possible insecurities a place to know "your not alone", then why the problem? Any thing to help them and others understand that as you stated "Why are people so obsessed with their genitals and how we use them and where we put them? " because obviously people ARE and these kids need to know its ok to be themselves.. WHO they are and how they live their lives defines them not what their sexual orientation is...

Why can't Christians, Jews or Muslims form clubs in school to feel good about themselves? To talk openly about who they are. I think there needs to be a separation of sexual orientation and State. The double standard exists. Why are our tax dollars being used to promote "any" particular lifestyle? I can understand a math club or chess club etc.
This is a dangerous road we are going down. What if a trans gender club is requested? Bi-sexual club requested? What if NAMBLA makes a case for a club. They are already in the court system trying to advance their particular lifestyle. Where does it end?
Tolerance is taught in our schools. Maybe more attention should be paid to the concept.
Calling me intolerant is ignoring the argument. Name calling and labels are in itself intolerant. If someone espouses a position on a subject today that is unpopular they are called racists, homophobes, etc. Shame on YOU for your intolerance to logic.

If you are saying i am intolerant to YOUR logic then i will wear the badge proudly.

I am thrilled to hear such a club will exist in Seaford. What wonderful news. I cannot believe that I am writing this, but I completely agree with Lorraine's first comment.

We already have bully programs in the schools. Why the need for this club under these pretenses?

I think several of you are missing the entire term "Gay Straight Alliance" and just reading "Gay Club."

The whole idea isn't to create a club for gay or lesbian individuals - it's to create an ALLIANCE between both gay AND STRAIGHT individuals. Heterosexual students may also join the club - and, clearly, bisexuals as well. The entire club is about creating an alliance - showing that students of all sexual orientations are welcome to come together as a group, are equal to one another, and promoting the tolerance of these students.

We had this in my high school. The club wasn't about gathering the school up for an assembly on how bullying is hurtful - as the club doesn't exist for that reason, and as that idea is covered in a million other aspects of school and media. Never once did we force everyone to watch a documentary about the hardships of gay teens. Any activity that was done was done with everyone in mind. For example, having a movie night, with a plain old regular movie. The fact that the club is hosting it was enough to raise awareness. Other students knowing that such a club existed made a statement - "gay straight alliance" - the friendship of all students regardless of sexual orientation, and a club created as a safe haven for those who are homosexual, questioning, or just friends of someone who is.

On the religion argument - if there was to be a club called the Christian-Jewish Alliance, for example (of course, there are other religions, so this name wouldn't suffice), then this might be allowed. A club dedicated to a religion is not allowed in school, but a club unspecific to religious beliefs and instead dedicated to the tolerance of those with differing beliefs, or without beliefs at all, would most likely be alright. This would be more settling to the students, also, as instead of feeling awkward that a club existed for Religion A and not for their own, there would be a non-religion-specific club where they could join other students from their own religion and from other religions and come together as a group, accepting everyone else within the group and knowing that everyone else accepted them.

The point of the GSA is not to have a "Gay Club." It is called the Gay Straight Alliance for a reason. Anyone who conveniently skips over one or two of those words or is judging the club based upon its name and not its actions or purpose is being completely irrational. Learn about something before you begin to criticize it.

QUOTE:

Some broad goals that the Seaford students wrote in their petition for the new GSA include:

* To create an alliance of students... [redacted for emphasis]
* [redacted for emphasis]
* Encourage and support tolerance, acceptance and positive relations among all students.

A.W. Well put

A.W thank you for the time you took to respond, but I'm still not in agreement with this club. I think the school has many clubs available for children to join and safety nets to protect from bulling. Why a club for sexual orientation? How is this club going to build alliances, especially if some do not agree with this? I agree that bullying is not an acceptable tolerance, but what about those that have religious beliefs and do not agree with the acceptance of this life style? How will you build this alliance? If someone has religious beliefs that position them not to agree with it, you will never win them over. Is a parent informed when their child enrolls in this club? I woudn't think so, just like they are not informed when their child enrolls in other clubs. To me, and I don't say this with disrespect, but this sounds like a club for gay kids to meet each other. Tell me why heterosexual kids would want to participate? I'm seriously asking you this question. I don't see too many signing up to participate! I could be wrong, but my guess is that most would not. I don't like the fact that parents would not be aware of their child being part of this club. I'm sure some might know, but others would not.

This is great because Nassau Community College has a wonderful organization and the majority of our graduates will fit right in upon arrival.
Keep up the propaganda about the top 20 kids every year!!!!

Long Islander, Clubs like this are a mix of students. In my school, the overwhelming majority are straight kids who have friends and relatives who are homosexual. Aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters. If someone disagrees with the lifestyle, they have every right to. I think if you read about the club they preach tolerance towards different view points rather than acceptance of all view points. It is not about a club for sexual orientation at all. Homosexual students are bullied and commit suicide more often than any other group. The rates are alarming. Giving those kids a place at school where they can feel comfortable knowing that others feel the same way they do is a preventative measure. As far as parents not knowing what clubs their children are involved in, I would say that is the role of the parent and their relationship with their child. No organization, school or otherwise, should come between that.

Tarallos Lover - I really don't understand your comment.

Chris and Long Islander - I understand your objection to the GSA being called a "club". I stated at the board meeting that i don't really consider this a "club" either, but that is how they set it up. LI, I agree with you people are entitled to their religious beliefs. The GSA is not trying to change anyone's religious beliefs. However, just as you would want people to respect your religious beliefs, other beliefs deserve respect also. The students requested a GSA, this year and last, so apparently they feel there is a need for this. "Straight" students signed the petition for the GSA also. Thankfully there are accepting students out there.

Children learn at an early age tolerance, acceptance and inclusion from their parents.
If we as a whole accept the individual for what they are first anfd foremost :
a human being - then we are all better for it.
Fear & ingnorance breeds intolerence and exclusion. These are KIDS who are braver then you or I for it is probably VERY hard for ANYONE regardless of age stand up and say : I am different please accept me for WHO I am. That takes guts and courage. Thats hard for an adult to do never mind a kid. If your kid was gay what would YOU do? Would you not want people to look beyond the label and look at the PERSON,look at WHO your kid was not the label attached to them? Bravo to the students & their parents of all the students who join & support this organization ..THEY are looking at the Person... not the label.
Gay isnt a disease, it nots "catchy"

Ok so if I read you correctly,
A) your against this "type of Alliance"
B) You doubt that teenagers straight or gay have the potential to be more open minded then their parents..more tolerant
C) you doubt parents have the sensibiltiy to see that senseless bullying is something that needs to be addressed regardless of the reason why people are being bullied.
D) you dont seem to feel that people who have different beliefs have the intelligence, compassion or respect to come together to try to understand each others point of view.etc.
IF thats the case and a majority of people feel the same way you do, then you and the rest of your ilk are mired in the persecutorial prejudices of the 50's ..I guess all people with alternative lifestyles, different colored skins, different religious beliefs,different special needs, the too fat, the too skinny, the kid with big ears or acne should stand in the back of the bus also? BTW you cant CATCH gay its not a disease, or werent you aware of that? AND as a parent if you dont know WHAT clubs your kids are involved in then perhaps the "parent "should be more involved and intouch with WHAT their kid is doing rather then self involved or worse indifferent.

It's a sexual orientation club! Period! That is truly what it is! Bullying and holding classes for respect the person, should be handled by school officials- not by kids in a club! If all parents knew what their kids were doing every second of the day, so many would not have STD's, Drinking and Drug problems! Even those parents that are involved and intouch with what their kids are doing, don't always know everything! You hope and pray they always make GOOD Choices, but in life nothing is guaranteed!

PERHAPS you and yours need to attend a meeting to see what this "club" is about and meet some of these kids both straight and gay THEN decide to condem it on facts not perceived prejudices. Look PAST the label, past the preconceived BS and truly look at the person then tell me what is or isnt worth it.// As a human being , a mother, a CATHOLIC and a friend if someone i knew decided they felt the need to tell me they were gay, my GUT reaction would be " So ,that doesnt change WHO you are so how can i support you"
Maybe my reaction is different from yours because having worked with a wide variety of individuals across the globe in my professional career , I realize people come in all shapes, sizes and "orientations". doesnt mean they should be ostrized or judged becasue of them, it just means they should be accepted for who they are and how they do their job.

As a Catholic, you do realize that living the homosexual lifestyle is a mortal sin? This means a true break in your realtionship with God because you have willfully gone against his commandments? Are you encouraging that to our children? I am not being prejudice about this. I realize everyone is different, but if you are Catholic, like you say, then you know that God is not in accordance with this type of a lifestyle. I don't think the school should have allowed this club, under these pretenses. My opinion! And Chris is right, what clubs are next? Maybe the 1950's were not so bad after all! You could send your child to school and they would learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. They wouldn't recieve condoms in school or have outside organizations provide programs that you as a parent are not in agreement with. When you turned on the tv or the radio, you didn't worry about sexual inappropriate programs being rammed down everyone's throat! Maybe you should ask your Pastor about the teachings of the Catholic faith and what his opinion is about childen sitting around discussing and possibly encouraging this lifestyle. These issues are things that should be discussed at home with their parents and spiritual director.

How did we ever survive school without all these "clubs"?

You skirted the whole issue in your last comment. Now we are talking about CHOICE? Don't run for the reall issue...you are creating a club to have children sit around and talk about their sexual problems with each other, but they don't have a moral guide in the discussions! These are still kids who still need guidance. Even the Alcoholic support groups have moral guides to lead the the groups past their problems and they include God in their healing talks as well. How is this club helpful to the spirtual welfare of the child without guidance and the building of character and virtue from parents, spiritual directors, and those trained in this? You are opening these kids up to more trouble and deeper problems doing it this way. I for one, don't want my tax dollars used for this and the school board should not have permitted this to happen!
Thank you for the discussion.

I challenge you to make that call to the SD then come back here and post the FACTS..

Ok possilby NOt my final post on this thread.lol..

A) not being an ALCHOLIC i wouldnt know what the process is during a "meeting" /"discussion" Obviously you seem very well versed in the process.. so you must have first hand knowledge and kudoes to you for acknowledging you or someone you know has a problem..

B) this has nothing to do with the SPIRUTAL welfare of anyone-

C_)Before you condemn ANYONE or ANYTHNING on HERSAY perhaps you should inquire about exactly WHAT this ALLIANCE is about how it will be conducted, mentored monitored etc. Get the FACTS.. and stop flying around on your holier then thou broom screaming and wailing we are all going to burn in hell on your tax dollars You will be surprised what you find out with a phone call...right now you are operating that broom in overdrive based on assumption and supposition..with no facts what so ever.

You don't need to be an Alcholic to know that their meetings have trained professionals there to help them. Haven't you heard their code of conduct! But again you miss the point and throw daggers instead...The point was these support groups use trained professionals to help their clients. I didn't condemn anyone, but worry that this club will make matters worse! This is a group for sexual orientation and the school should not get involved in this.

Long Islander, you are right on target. Religious oriented organizations just lost a court battle and are now banned from "renting" space in NYC school buildings. These meetings were held after hours. The organizations paid rent to the NYC schools for use of said facilities. The courts have ordered them to be thrown out. What about those kids? How can they possibly "feel good" about themselves? What about their self esteem? Who fights for them? If there must be a separation of Church and State, I believe that there must be a separation of sexual orientation and State. The feel good warm and fuzzy arguments that people use to support a Gay Straight club are baseless. Everyone wants to feel good about themselves. Everyone needs self esteem. As far as I know our schools have no problem with gay students. And that is as it should be. Why the need for an alliance? Allied against who?
Again, I must ask the question.....What happens to a transgender club request? Bi-sexual only clubs? NAMBLA is an organization that exists today to lobby for their civil rights to have sex with underage children. Why can't their members feel good about themselves? What if they want a parade? Where does "tolerance" end. Who decides?
This is a dangerous path the school has decided to go down.

tolerence NEVER ends .
let me make a preconceived assumption, I COULD say your are probably ,a proported good catholic, goes to church, gets drunk and then drives , has had a few discrete but adulterous affairs,is republican and ethicly challenged, has very conservative far right views, curses, uses the lords name in vain, likes the color purple, has a stash of porn, beats your wife every other tuesday nite, cheats on your taxes, mowes your own lawn, has coveted thy neighbors goods ALL of the above is NOT true (atleast i hope it isnt.). BUT all of the above could be an ASSUPMTION on my part because of my perceived view of based onthe little information i have read here. . So .. lets be clear here. I dont know ANYTHING about you or how you live your life etc. if you DONT know what this Alliance is about, havent found out the facts and are jumping the gun based on your own preconceived bias beliefs dont you at least owe it to yourself to find out before you continue to sound like the biggest bigot >
I could perceive that, truthfully I DONT, but atleast I am NOT denying you the right to exist and I am being tolerant trying to open a dialog so we come to some form of common ground.
And that common ground could be we dont like each other,we dont understand each other, we dont support each other views etc BUT we wont HURT each other and rather then attack verbally we can discuss our love for starbucks coffee and bitch about our school taxes.

This type of club is about tolerance. Kids who want to be a part of it will be. Others will not, just like every other club. A catholic HS probably would not have such a club, but this is a public school that is dealing with the issues that face our kids everyday. Most importantly, it is not a homosexual only club, it is a club for everyone. It is wonderful to see all types of kids support all other types of kids.

Every club is about tolerance! You can call this club whatever you like, but it really is a club for sexual orientation, which will run without professionally trained counselors to guide these kids properly! My last comment on this for sure.

Lorraine, Should we tolerate everything and everyone with no critical thinking? That is madness! All you can do is criticize and call me names. Why don't we tolerate religion in public schools? A judge decided years ago to keep it out of the schools. It is the law of the land and we will follow it. If a manger was to be erected on the front lawn of a government facility there would be marches and protests. Again, we must ask ourselves how much do we tolerate. NAMBLA ? Transgenders? Where does it end. Your argument is emotional. Just because it feels good does not mean we should do it !

Several years ago I had a very honest and emotional conversation with an a young man i had hired, he was absolutely brilliant in his field & he is gay, and his life was hell as a teenager.He comptemplated suicide SEVERAL times to end the abuse and shame and anger . He was tormented repeatedly, his parent shunned him, abandoned him and kicked him out of the house for something HE had no control over. @ 15 he had no home no support , no family, he was taken in by one of his STRAIGHT friends families .. He didint chose to be gay and as he stated he would shout "do you think I WANT to be like this why me?"..
He hated himself as much as others did. To hear this young man who was in his late 20's go thru such gut wrenching anguish, and pain is heartbreaking. He finally after YEARS of therapy and support from friends has come to accept what I and others around had been saying . Who you are is not dfiend by your sexuality ITs WHO you ARE as a person, and he is a wonderful , funny kind warm individual who has much success infront him and is probably one of the most sincere giving people I know. TO stop or prevent this from happening to one more kid is the reason why i am so vocal here on this topic. As a parent i am outraged that another parent could turn their back on their own kid becasue of their prejudices, as human being i am outraged that people are tormented , bullied and JUDGED without fact or merit based on social and religious stigmas.

Lorraine, You are absolutely right. No person should have to go through that. I have sympathy for anyone who contemplates suicide over their personal life's circumstances. That is a horrible place to be in. It is unfortunate that his parents are that ignorant.
All I am saying is that there should be no double standard when it comes to our schools, and there is.
No one should be judged for their lifestyle or religious beliefs. All inclusive. After 9-11 I am sure that many Muslim students felt bad about themselves and how they were looked at by other students in their schools. But a Muslim religious club is forbidden by law in our schools. Separation of Church and State.
The more we put labels on people and categorize them, the more it seems to split us apart. Black Americans, White Americans, Indian, Gay, Straight etc...
Anti Bullying and tolerance should be taught across the board for every student, no matter who you are or lifestyle ! We are all Americans and in this together.
Lorraine, I have enjoyed this conversation and exchange of ideas.

All i ask is that peole keep an open mind and dont be so quick to judge, because as the saying goes "-there by the grace of god."
These are kids after all.
love your kids for WHO they are, cherish them support them and make them feel worthy and special and loved ..no child or adult should feel excluded or tormented or driven to the brink because of this ..
Chris , an exchange of ideas is always a good.thing! ..

This really is'nt a big deal. Yall make it this huge conflict. At my school we have the club, no one really takes opinions on it. If you're interested, then you go. It's a way for people to tolerate and not jump to conclusions. Everyone has their own opinion on the gays and homosexuals, but thats not the point of the club. It just helps kids look past it and accept that there are gay people out there. The longer the club is in existance, the less down the road people will care if you're gay or straight. Y'all need to relax.

AND schools are allowed to have religous based clubs. There is a club call Fellowship of Christian Athletes... You go, talk, hang out and end in a prayer. Just thought I'd say that.

It remains to be seen whether Seaford can develop a budget that the voters will pass in May or June. Generally, extracurricular activities (Clubs, etc.) are not cut before the fact by the school district, yet after the fact of a twice-defeated budget, school districts are prone to cut extracurricular activities from the resulting contingent (austerity) budget, subject to their being reinstated through fundraising donations.

I have no opinion about the GSA (Club), any more or less than I would have about the Astronomy Club or the FBLA Club. Those activities exist for the students who request them and who support them though their participation and fundraising efforts.

While a lot of column space was allotted here for discussion and exchanging ideas, in reality no discussion was warranted. This article was not a poll nor a referndum to approve or disapprove the creation of the Seaford GSA (Club). The school board has already taken the only vote necessary to establish the club and to fund it by accepting the generous donation given to pay for its advisor.

Well said Mr. Wendt. As long as the club does not harm or hurt any one person or persons, then students should be allowed to form a club(s). I would also like to say that if we teach our children at home to respect one another than none of this would be an issue. But we will always have those ignorant or blind parents that don't what's going on in their childrens' lives or say "not my child" I will tell this to anyone who chooses ignorant or says "not my child" ... join facebook -friend request your child...they put just about everything on facebook that's going on in their lives...if he or she chooses not to accept your friend request - that's your first clue that something is going on that they don't want you to know about. If he or she chooses to accept your friend request, you can see the what's going on in their lives. As much as I dislike facebook, the good side to it, is that, there is a world of information on your child's facebook page....who they hang with, what happened over the weekend, what happened at school, etc. My husband and I are "friends" on all our childrens facebook. Of course they could have another facebook page that we don't know about, but with a little computer savy...you can find this out through history pages, and the facebook network pages. It's time we that we get educated on what are children are doing these days both in school and on the computer. It's time for parents to take the reins and, once again, be "smarter" than our children.

This whole topic comes down to eternity. Those who disobey the ten commandments and advocate a life style which disobeys the ten commandments may be spending their eternity in hell. The ten commandments are written on the hearts of men. God is a merciful God, but he is a just God. Non are so blind as those who (will) not see.