The White House on Wednesday promoted a
video by Education Secretary Arne Duncan celebrating Gay-Straight
Alliance (GSA) Day.
Students involved in high school and
college GSA clubs raise awareness around issues including homophobia,
transphobia and bullying.
“Since taking office, President Obama
and his administration have taken many steps to ensure that all
students are safe and healthy and can learn in environments free from
discrimination, bullying and harassment,” the White House wrote in
a blog
post promoting the video.
In the 2-minute video, Duncan applauds
the work of GSAs as “absolutely essential.”
“On the first-ever National
Gay-Straight Alliance Day, I want to say thank you to all of the
student leaders and faculty advisors who are doing the courageous
work of making campuses safe places that are free of bullying and
harassment,” Duncan says.
“Harassment and bullying are serious
problems at schools and colleges, especially for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender students. We have to dispel the myth that
bullying is just a normal rite of passage, or an inevitable part of
growing up.”
“This day is an opportunity to
recognize the importance of Gay-Straight Alliances in schools across
America,” Duncan adds. “On behalf of President Obama, I want to
thank you for your hard work, your leadership, and your courage.
Your work makes a difference – so keep it up.” (The video is
embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
(Related: No
gay t-shirts! Printer refuses GSA club order.)