The Massapequa community continually makes banning bullying and respecting the differences between people a primary goal.  Students are subjected to torment for a plethora of reasons, including their sexual identity.  The GSA focuses on counteracting the hate directed at those who are not considered “normal” by their peers.  

The high school chapter of the GSA helps “alleviate apprehension of the membership as [Berner GSA students] move up through the secondary levels,”  GSA advisor Mr. Draper said.  “It’s also a wonderful way to use our upperclass members to create a support network and show empathy to our younger members.”

The NOH8 campaign attempts to raise awareness of the range of sexualities people may identify with, and has expanded to fight bullying for all reasons. The NoH8 campaign aims to end discrimination and bullying associated with gender and sexual identity.  The charitable organization aspires to end the discrimination which stems from the prevailing cisnormativity and heteronormativity.  

According to The TransAdvocate, cisnormativity is defined as “denoting or relating to someone whose sense of personal identity corresponds with the gender assigned to them at birth.” Heteronormativity is “practices or techniques [that] are multiple and organise categories of identity into hierarchical binaries. This means that… heterosexual as the opposite (and superior) of homosexual.”

“The reason we did [the Noh8 Campaign] was to raise awareness of homophobia, transphobia….it’s also for that we got to do this after all the fighting we had to do with the school district to get this done,” senior Reilly Hogan said.  

In addition to focusing on sexual identity bullying, the NOH8 campaign also sought to combat other forms of bullying. At the MHS shoot, models held up a sign with a word that has silenced them as a result of bullying. The phrase “NOH8” written across one cheek represents the ultimate goal of the organization.     

MHS embraces this event a year after the Berner GSA’s participation in the event resulted in outrage and a brief suspension of the club. Administrators’ main concerns were the subject matter of the event, considering the relatively young age of middle school students, and the fact that the duct-tape across the mouth seemed to resemble a detail of terrorist episodes.  

Administrators later made it clear that the GSA was never meant to be banned, but merely the photoshoot.  Overall, officials and parents voiced agreement with the central messages promoted by the campaign— tolerance and equality— but felt that the visuals of the photoshoot were not appropriate for young teenagers.  However, while certainly pertaining to the controversy of sexual identity, the GSA’s photoshoot was meant to promote acceptance of all people.

“There is a common misconception attached to GSA. Most think it is just for people of the LGBT community. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth,” Mr. Draper said.  “It is called the Gay and Straight Alliance, so it is an inclusive club for all members of our school community. In participating in the NOH8 Campaign, we focused our attention on their goal to stand against discrimination and bullying.”

In short, the GSA extends its membership to all students regardless of sexual orientation and focuses on the larger-scope problem of bullying against anyone.

Already thinking ahead, “Next campaign, we will do everything in a one-week time period,” Mr. Draper said.  “It was too spread out [this time] and it lost a bit of steam because of that issue.”  

More cohesive organization of the event aims at the main goal of the GSA club-getting everyone in the school community involved. “With a GSA club, youth break through the isolation to find support from peers and school staff.”

The GSA club invites all to become advocates and allies in eradicating the hurtful messages and destructive prejudice directed at those who are not society’s image of perfection.