Reaching Out Takes Place In Utah's High Schools

Finally, some walls have been broken down.
The first gay-straight alliances in St. George, Utah were established in three of the city's local high schools. While members of the clubs have already faced some ridicule and opposition, this is a considerably large step for this conservative city, especially since school administrators, teachers, and even the state's Legislature have been trying to prevent any outward support for the gay youths in their own city for years now.
In January of last year, there were only nine high schools that allowed gay-straight alliances. By December of 2010, that number rose up to 32. Gay rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union have helped gay and lesbian students of Utah publicly advocate gay rights at the high schools and have also ensured that no "arbitrary hurdles" were set up to prevent the establishments of these clubs. 
However, the alliances still must abide by the following rules: Members must receive parental permission to become a part of the club and there must be no discussions of "sexuality or contraception, even to prevent diseases." While I believe that it is still an amazement that Utah's schools were able to come this far, I of course believe that there are problems with this 2007 rule. It is unfair that those who may want to join might not have the chance to do so, but at the same time I'm sure that they'll find a way to work around getting a parental signature. Also, more importantly, it is incredibly important that gay teens openly discuss their sexuality and what it means to have safe sex. Other than spreading awareness, this is one of the reasons why gay-straight alliances are started: to set up an environment where gay teens can feel safe around their peers and develop a trust that enables them to confide in one another about their different fears and questions about what it means to be gay. Kate Hanson, a member of Snow Canyon High School's gay-straight alliance and an openly bisexual girl at her school, said that the alliance "helps you realize that there are others like you and there are people who support you." <-- Exactly!
In addition, if parents and other adults are worried about transmitting sexual diseases, prohibiting talks about safe sex really would not be in their favor! It would just work against them! While I cannot stress enough that I really hope that this rule will soon no longer be a requirement for the gay-straight alliances in Utah, I still believe that this is a good start. I'm happy to hear that Utah is "joining a growing national movement to provide friendly meeting places in schools for students who have often felt like misfits, clubs where gay youths and their supporters can socialize, speak out against discrimination and sponsor events like the Day of Silence in honor of bullied students," according to the SF Gate article written by Erik Eckholm. 
Hopefully sometime soon, more high schools in Utah will be allowed to set up gay-straight alliances for their students.