Illinois Safe Schools Alliance ( the Alliance ), on Nov. 7, presented Education in Action, an LGBT youth conference, at Chicago State University.
Presenters spoke on a wide variety of issues, among them raising money for community causes, respecting gender identities in schools, working within the structure of gay-straight alliances ( GSAs ) and integrating LGBT history into the classroom.
Katie Bakerprogram director of Chicago School's Elyssa's Mission, a Northbrook-based suicide prevention organizationdiscussed the prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts amongst teenagers, especially ones who identify as LGBT.
"The statistics that we have on this topic really do not do justice to it as a topic," she said, adding that educational institutions need to build a feeling of connectedness between adults and students. "Young people need to believe that adults in the building care about more than just their academics."
Owen Daniel-McCarter, project attorney at Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, explained how school regulations are implemented at the federal, state, local and institutional levels, focusing primarily on the case of a Palatine transgender student who had been forced to use a separate changing facility at her school.
"Sometimes education is policy work," he said. "It's important to know how policies are changed in your school."
Daniel-McCarter also emphasized the importance of being able to identify and express what goals LGBT students are working towards in the school setting, noting that, "We have to really know what we're asking for if we have a goal that we want to see happen."
Members of About Face Theater Company opened the day with a performance about being out in school. A reception was also held the Alliance's downtown offices Nov. 6.