Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted for the last two meetings. There's a lot that's been going on, but I'll try and keep it as brief as possible.

First, some business:

Tomorrow, Friday Oct 22nd, there is going to be a GSA party for all those in the club and those interested in joining. I apologize for not mentioning this sooner. Quite frankly, though, I just forgot to mention it at the meeting. The address is:

42 Hetherington Rd. (my house).
Please bring $3 for a pizza contribution and you don't have too, but you can bring any other chips, cookies, snacks, drinks, etc. that you would like.
Time: 5:00-whenever (you don't have to be on time and you can stay as long as you'd like...unless its 1am or something cause then I'll have to kick you out :P )

Other than that, there's not much going on until Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. We'll talk more about as it gets closer, but here is a link to the website: http://www.transgenderdor.org/

Now for some current events:

First off, the number of teen suicides continues to increase. Recently I heard about another young man who took his life at the age of 19. His name was Zach Harrington and he lived in Oklahoma with his family. While the exact reason for his suicide is unknown, his parents believe that a town meeting drove him over the edge. For years he endured the torment that came with being gay in a small, conservative town and even though he was out of high school, the hate did not end. One night, Zach and his family went to a town meeting where it was being preposed that LGBT history month be recognized in the town. Zach sat through the meeting and listened to 3 hours of hatred. While the hate-filled comments of those around him were not directed at Zach, the words of his neighbors still made it clear about their feelings toward him. In the case of Zach Harrington, it was not physical abuse or embarassment that drove him to do what he did. It wasn't even hatred directed towards him personally. It was simply hearing the hate of others. This is exactly what we mean when we warn people to watch what they say. We may not mean to hurt anyone or we may just be joking around, but we never know who is listening and taking our words to heart. We need to watch what we say for the same reason that we wore purple (speaking of which, thank you so much to those who did), to send a message of acceptance and love because if all someone hears is "that's so gay" then after a while those words start to take their toll. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will harm our hearts.



I really don't like leaving off on such a sad note. So here's one of hope. It know that it's a bit old, but we need some hope right now and this video always makes me smile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Hope to see everyone tomorrow and if anyone needs to talk don't hestitate to contact any of us.

Peace & Love

Alex Loveall