On Saturday, May 11, Aragon hosted the second biennial Bay Area Youth Summit (BAYS). Over 200 people attended, including students and adults of all ages. This year, BAYS focused on educating young people on topics such as suicide prevention, HIV/AIDS, and bullying prevention.
Apart from guest speakers, the conference offered many workshops from which guests could choose. Senior and Aragon GSA president Sam Alavi, who also serves as president of the BAYS Board of Directors, explains, “We like to talk about things that students don’t really know all that much about. We have workshops on HIV/AIDS, we have workshops on LGBT history, since we don’t really get to hear that in our classrooms.”
Since the 2011 Summit, BAYS has grown and established its ability to make a difference in the LGBT community, especially among youth. BAYS is the only LGBT organization in the world led completely by youth, which can make it difficult for it to be taken seriously, Alavi claims. “When we call asking for donations or [ask] people to speak, they’re a little hesitant. And definitely this has been a very expensive Summit, so getting the money and making things affordable has been hard, but definitely worth it.”
BAYS executive director and Aragon alumni Jason Galisatus comments, “Not only are we youth-led, we’re also a new non-profit, so we’re kind of in a double-bind. I think in politics you are only as valuable as the people you represent, so what we’re trying to do is show the world we have a very strong connection to the youth LGBT community.”
Alavi adds, “I think the 2011 Summit was Jason and I sitting in the school library every day after school planning. And this year we have a full staff of like 15 people; we’ve made a name for ourselves.”
Continues Alavi, “We had more attendees than last year, and this group knew more about BAYS, so it was a more excited crowd. We’ve built our audience and our presence in the community.”
Apart from two successful conferences, BAYS has also been recognized as a 501(c)(3)—meaning they are recognized as an official non-profit organization. In addition, BAYS has been elected to be Organizational Grand Marshal for the 2013 San Francisco Pride Parade on June 30.
The conference featured several well-known activists as guest speakers, including Oscar-winning Dustin Lance Black, who wrote the screenplay for Milk; former COO of E*Trade, Kathy Levinson; and Zach Wahls, founder of Scouts for Equality, amongst many others. In addition, Raja Gemini, winner of Season Three of the reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” emceed the event and performed a song in drag before the second set of speakers.
Black is a well-known activist for LGBT civil rights. He has been featured as number one on The Advocate’s “Forty Under Forty,” a list of openly gay influential activists. Black has written several movies with sexual identity as their central issue. He has also spoken at the National Equality March to Congress in 2009.
Says Alavi, “It was a good idea to have Black speak at the end. It was good to end with a powerhouse speaker.”
Growing up in a conservative community, Black says, “[I felt] very isolated… I know the toll that that took on my self esteem and potentially could’ve taken a toll on my entire future… so, when I hear that there’s an organization…that’s making sure that people have access to groups where they can meet people like them and mentors that can help them figure out what it’s like to be part of the LGBT community in high school, it’s hopefully fixing the problem that I had in a high school in this area.”
Black emphasized embracing difference and accepting others because of their differences, rather than ostracizing them. “Why are we so afraid of difference?” he asked during his speech.
Levinson is an active supporter of LGBT rights. She has founded the California-based Lesbian Equity Foundation, which has headed several civil rights campaigns. Levison also frequently speaks at LGBT conferences and events, especially for professional lesbian women. Levinson specifically focuses on bringing discrimination against LGBT and women in the workplace to light.
Wahls grew up in Iowa and was raised by two mothers, which he has stated greatly inspired him to become active in the LGBT community. Wahls became very involved in protesting the Boy Scouts of America’s rule against gay or lesbian members in their organization. He formed the Scouts for Equality to advocate ending the Boy Scout’s refusal to allow homosexuals to participate in the organization.
Wahls insists, “When you threaten the rights of some people, you threaten the rights of everyone.”
According to Alavi, the next summit may be held at a new location. Says Alavi, “We are looking at some other venues, mainly some that are more accessible with better public transportation. There were things I like about doing it Aragon, but there are also some benefits to a new location.”
Galisatus concludes, “We want[ed] it to inspire people. We really want[ed] people to go away from the Summit with a renewed sense to want to participate in activism and wanting to get involved in the community to really make the difference.”
