By Ben Barranco
The Batavia Pride Alliance has been at Batavia High School for many years now and provides amazing support and acceptance for the LGBT community in Batavia and the local area.
This is a safe and fun spot for people in this community and allies, people who support the LGBT community, to meet together and share a common bond. They talk about LGBT events and issues happening in the suburbs and the whole country.
They meet every Tuesday in room A 125. This meeting, led by staff sponsor Mrs. TieriTon, also allows them to discuss friends, school, growing up, and other life experiences. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. It’s very important because they all share a common bond of being part of or an ally of the LGBT community. This topic can be very hard and troubling for many students but this club allows for a great way to meet other students who are may be struggling with this or need a new support group. Having a group like this is so important because according to the Human Rights Campaign, “4 in 10 LGBT youth (42%) say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBT people.” There are lots of great parties and they also participate in the Homecoming Parade by walking in it. One club member states,
“We’re doing a showing of Love, Simon in January to raise money for the club and for the Batavia Food Pantry,” said Nayeli Mora.
There are lots of fun events and gatherings that the club offers.
Being a part of this community can be very challenging and also very rewarding. For example, “26% of LGBT youth say their biggest problems are not feeling accepted by their family, trouble at school/bullying, and a fear to be out/open. 22% of non LGBT youth say their biggest problems are trouble with class, exams, and grades” states the Human Rights Campaign. Statistics like this make the Pride Alliance club a necessity at Batavia High School. Pride Alliance lets people talk and share their views and experiences in order to learn and grow individually and as a community.
Having a supportive group like this at Batavia High school is important because our country is diverse and it also allows people to see that diversity in our school and area. Also, it is a great resource for students from all backgrounds. Pride club is a great support system for all students and members and brings awareness to people about the different types of people in our country and the issues they face. School can also be hard for many students and this is a good way for them to make their high school experience more fun and enjoyable. This is also a very important time in all kids lives and having a club like this is beneficial to the students who need it but also educates everyone about the diversity in our country.
Pride Alliance is a great addition to the many clubs at Batavia High School and is beneficial to many students.