By Ingrid HERMAN and Nicole LaHENDRO 

From Monday, Oct. 3 to Friday, Oct. 7, Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) held its annual Solidarity Week. Solidarity Week is a student-run event organized by CVHS’ Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and is supported by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national education organization that works to ensure schools are safe places for all of their students. Throughout the week, GSA held events around campus where students could show their support for their Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Plus (LGBTQ+) peers.

Before the week began, CVHS staff was given I Am An Ally cards to describe why they were an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. These cards were then displayed throughout the campus, in classrooms, offices and workspaces. Additionally, the school’s student-run newspaper The Falcon released its annual Solidarity Week issue, which featured many LGBTQ+ students and allies, and gave a preview of what the week ahead would entail.

During Solidarity Week, teachers showed videos selected by GSA in their homeroom classes that educated the student body on what it is like being part of the LGBTQ+ community and how to be a responsive and respectful ally. During snack and lunch breaks, GSA sold rainbow shirts, bracelets, stickers and flags that represented the different identities within the community, such as transgender, lesbian, and bisexual flags. Students were also welcome to fill out their own I Am An Ally card that was displayed around campus. Around the end of the week, the girls’ tennis team, girls’ volleyball team, and the marching band showed their solidarity by wearing rainbow ribbons pinned to their uniforms. Although it was a very successful week, GSA wants to build off the foundation that was set during Solidarity Week and advocate for LGBTQ+ students and faculty throughout the year.

This year’s Solidarity Week theme, “Solidarity is Always in Season,” was representative of GSA’s message for students and staff. Sometimes Solidarity Week can be very situational: the banner’s up, people know it’s happening and when it’s happening, and then after no one pays attention.

GSA president Rosa Fletcher, a senior at CVHS, said, “The theme encourages the practice of LGBTQ+ allyship to continue throughout the rest of the school year rather than be limited to one week.”

Solidarity at CVHS has significantly evolved in the 10 years since government teacher Alicia Harris has been a co-advisor of GSA. She cited a panel of LGBTQ+ students and teachers from 10 years ago who expressed that there was little support for their community. However, an equivalent panel held during this year’s Solidarity Week found that efforts to be inclusive (such as asking for pronouns and displaying Safe Space cards) have been effective in making LGBTQ+ students feel welcomed and comfortable.

But CVHS is still far from perfect. Harris observed there is an increase in hateful language and behavior between students when there is no school staff present. Additionally, the school still lacks concrete policies to handle LGBTQ+ harassment. 

“We need something moving forward,” Harris said. “We want to change hearts and minds, but if nothing else we can hopefully change behaviors, at least in this physical space.”

Overall, GSA’s Solidarity Week celebrated LGBTQ+ students and staff at CVHS and helped educate others on how to be an effective ally. GSA encourages students to show their allyship throughout the year, especially since harassment is still a pressing issue among LGBTQ+ students and their peers.