Watertown High School's GSA

       Most public high schools have a Gay-Straight Alliance group, but not all are active. Meghan Riling and one other advisor run the GSA at Watertown High School. Ms. Riling, who has been advising the GSA for two years, said, “the main goal of the GSA is to make the school more comfortable for all people…” even those who don’t identify as being LGBTQ. 

       Before Ms. Riling was a part of the GSA, it was more of a social thing: kids would gather together to watch movies after school and eat snacks. Since Ms. Riling has joined the group, there are lots of new members. A lot of the 2012-2013 freshmen became part of the GSA, which has certainly impacted the GSA’s presence in the school. Before these freshmen came, the GSA was mostly juniors and mostly girls; now it’s a fairly even mix of genders, and mainly freshmen. None of the members of the GSA are “out” to the group as being LGBTQ, but all of them identify as being supporters and allies.
       The GSA does lots of activities to get the word out and keep it fun. Bring a Friend Day is a main one. Each member of the GSA brings a friend to their meeting to spread information about the GSA and show people what it’s really about. They have food and fun, informative games. Other activities include bake sales and weekly meetings.
       Ms. Riling says that the best part of being in a GSA is “talking about these subjects in supportive and constructive ways,” rather than the negative conversations that float around in our society. Check our your local GSA today and you might be surprised with the amount of fun you have!