Victory at Clear Creek High

I have great news: The principal at Clear Creek High School in Texas, Dr. Hayes, finally gave in and gave me permission to form a gay-straight alliance club!I fought very hard for this and even threatened a lawsuit, but I can't take all the credit. I would not have succeeded if it wasn't for the efforts of other students.Two other girls at my school had heard about the GSA I helped start at my former high school, Clear Lake High in Houston, and decided they wanted a club here too.So, they found a sponsor and had a meeting.With that and the realization that I was not lying or bluffing about a legal fight to win the club myself, Dr. Hayes reluctantly decided to give us our GSA.I have been gaining more support from friends, coworkers, and some family members, not just for my my school club but for my life as an out lesbian. But it's still not as much as I would like, so I am continuing to work for acceptance, living my life openly even though I am subjecting myself to a lot of ridicule at school. And now that my name is attached to the gay club, I will be facing more.We had our first meeting, which was rather successful, and we have made plans for activities, made new friends, and strengthened already established friendships.At the meeting the two other founders of the group and I all stayed for about an hour afterward and talked about ourselves, club stuff (such as plans, members, the safety contract, confidentiality, and dues) and the difficulties we face.There are already people trying to take our club away by convincing school district authorities it was not a good idea to let us have it.We also have to work for the acceptance of teachers and staff. There were a number of teachers I observed and heard of that were very prejudiced against the idea of our club.Some were even offended. I can't understand why these people are offended by the mere thought of having a club at our school that caters especially to the LGBTQ community.So we have decided to develop some type of measures to ensure the safety and security of the students in the club. Although a good number of students have been supportive, there are still those who never will be.For example, even before our first meeting, a group of guys came to us and asked for a list of names of the people in our club so they would know "who to kill."This very loud, obnoxious group of guys is only a small percentage of the people at Clear Creek High School who feel this way. There are also those kids who are against this club privately but show support when they know they may offend someone.My older sister, a senior in high school, was in her third-period class when they announced the formation of our club to the school. She said a few girls around her started saying nasty things about the GSA and the people in it.Then--something I would not have expected--my sister turned to them and said, "My sister and her friends started that club." The girls in her class, she said, suddenly went from saying mean things to saying rather pleasant things.