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 Johnathan Rase, Plymouth English teacher, is duct taped to the cafeteria wall. Students paid $1 per piece of tape as a fundraiser for the LGBT initiative. - Cory Watkins
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 By Lauren Lukens
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The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Summit takes place on Feb. 4 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Plymouth. It will consist of five workshops: religion, transgender, coming out, drama and a workshop for parents who are willing to come and learn.
To allow the summit to run as smoothly as possible, there was a fund raiser on Jan. 9, 11 and 13. Pieces of duct tape were sold and then used to tape teachers to the cafeteria wall until they were stuck without a step stool under them. Teachers involved included Mr. Price on Jan. 9, during C lunch in Plymouth, Mr. Green on Jan. 11, during A lunch in Canton, and Mr. Rase on Jan. 14, during C lunch in Plymouth.
The religion workshop features a panel of professional speakers from different religions. They will be answering questions people may have about religious views of being gay and give a presentation on how different religions view gay rights. Advice on how to cope if your religion does not accept homosexuality will also be provided.
The transgender workshop provides information on what being transgender truly is. Also, issues that transgender people deal with on a daily basis in the community are discussed.
The coming out workshop allows people to share stories and provide support and advice to those who are not quite sure what to do. Organizers say that the workshop is completely confidential.
Led by Mr. Rase and Mr. Green, the Drama workshop is open to all participants. In this workshop, different scenarios are played out with different endings. This ending to the day is a fun way to find ways to cope with several different situations that one could encounter.
While students are involved in these workshops, there is a different room set aside for parents to learn more about the LGBT community and allow them to get a better understanding of the subject. Parents are also welcome to attend other workshops offered throughout the day, except for the coming out workshop.
If students are only interested in attending some of the workshops, or feel like they need a break, there is a room set aside to hang out and wait for the next workshop they wish to attend. There, movies are played and other activities are offered.
“This Summit is not only for LGBT Students, it is open to the whole school, and we encourage everyone to come and learn a little more about the community,” said Sara Kadish, P-CEP GSA President. “We’re hoping that a Summit like this will bring education to other students, and maybe they’ll think twice before saying something like ‘That’s so gay’.”
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