Aragon Gay/Straight Alliance hosts Bay Area Youth Summit

On Saturday, April 23, over 150 attendees came to Aragon High School for the Bay Area Youth Summit (BAYS) which was hosted by the Aragon Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). Led by GSA Senior President Jason Galisatus, the summit’s theme was anti-bullying and featured numerous speakers advocating for LGBT issues and rights.

Galisatus was inspired to host the event after visiting Los Angeles in October 2010. “It really crystallized after I met Tammy Aaberg, the mother of a gay youth who committed suicide. I wanted to tackle the issue of bullying, but bullying is such a huge issue. Lots of lessons about LGBT bullying can be applied elsewhere,” says Galisatus.

Galisatus contacted many high schools around the Bay Area by sending out letters. Many participants were not only looking to benefit from the experience, but also hoped to receive tips on how to start their own GSAs.

After months of preparation and coordination between Executive Director Jason Galisatus and sophomore Deputy Director Sam Alavi, LGBT youth and straight allies arrived at Aragon at noon. The summit began with an introduction from Executive Director Galisatus and emcee Delta Work, a Los Angeles entertainer and drag queen.

The night featured appearances from various speakers, including legendary LGBT activist Cleve Jones and 14-year old activist Graeme Taylor. While the two are from entirely different eras, they represent the unification of new and old activism, and show the diverse range of those fighting for equality.

Jones is known worldwide for starting the AIDS quilt, the world’s largest community art project, which consists of over 45,000 panels, each representing one person who has died of AIDS. He first became notable as an instrumental leader of the protests that followed the minimal sentencing of Dan White for the 1978 murders of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, which became known as the White Night Riots.

A close friend to Milk, Jones was extremely optimistic at the turnout of the summit. He notes the significant change in recent years and has been responsible for rallying other activists in support of LGBT rights. Jones says, “It’s interesting because I graduated high school in 1972 and nobody talked about being gay. There were no GSAs. I didn’t know there were others like me.”

He believes that these youth represent the next generation of leaders and the change that has come is inspiring. Jones says, “I am happy to see the young leaders emerging and I enjoy speaking to them. There’s not a whole lot I can do; I can’t protect everybody, but hopefully, I can show people that by being honest, they can fight back.”

Along with the speakers, participants had a chance to attend the broad range of workshops and interact with each other at the same time. These individual workshops addressed a variety of issues pertaining to LGBT youth.

One such workshop was hosted by filmmaker Joe Wilson, who presented a screening of his own Emmy Award-winning documentary about the journey of the family of a gay boy. Wilson also had his own opinions on change, saying, “The only way to make change is through people-to-people contact.”

Wilson also has a two part message to young people on how to deal with LGBT bullying. He says, “To young people, it’s important to be confident but careful and proactive. The second part is that to address bullying, it’s up to the adults and straight allies because they are in a much safer position.”

Sam Alavi also has thoughts on the issue and brings a different perspective as a straight ally. She says, “No people can move forward without others outside helping. We are looking to hopefully make BAYS an annual thing. The first step to change is education. We need to teach people the problem on a personal level, rather than throw out facts.”

Having prepared since December, members of Aragon’s GSA were motivated to help out and prepare for the event. Freshman Alex Furuya says, “I think it’s really revolutionary…it’s going to impact the whole area and other LGBT communities.”

After the workshops and interactions of the day were over, dinner was served, and people had a chance to interact and meet one another. The summit wrapped up with appearances from guest speakers, and was followed by a brief message from Galisatus, finally finishing with a free dance.

However, despite the strong participation and enthusiasm from those who attended, BAYS did not receive the 300 participants it had originally expected. The minimal turnout of press also came as a surprise because GSA members had sent out invitations and had received coverage at previous events.

Nonetheless, BAYS has been selected as a San Francisco Gay Pride Community Partner. They will be a featured organization and will receive a donation at the end of Pride Week in late June. With a promising turnout of speakers and participants, Aragon’s GSA has plans to make this into a tradition.