By Brian Knowlton International Herald Tribune - When plans surfaced recently for a gay club at Kennedy High School on the southwest side of Chicago, some community members denounced the proposal as immoral and likely to target gay students for harassment.
Federal studies show the threat is real.
Gay students are five times more likely to skip school because they feel unsafe, seven times more likely to have been threatened or injured by a weapon at school and four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some communities have attempted to ban them. But the Equal Access Act prohibits schools from selectively denying clubs on the basis of content. Last week, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation, the city quietly lifted the ban on extracurricular activities. GSAs will now be allowed.