Statewide Advocacy Council Application

First Name
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Last Name
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Address
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School Info:

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GSA Officer
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GSA Network strives for diversity in all aspects of our organization. Please provide the following information about yourself:

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Date of Birth
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1. Why are you interested in serving on the Statewide Advocacy Council? Please describe why you are interested in legislative advocacy and statewide and regional administrative policy change.
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2. Please describe your involvement and experiences in working in the area of legislative advocacy, administrative advocacy or other forms of policy-driven activism within your community, at your school, with GSA Network or other organizations.
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3. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges facing GSAs and LGBTQ/straight youth in fighting homophobia and transphobia in schools on a statewide level?
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4. What is your understanding of oppression? Share some ways that racism, classism, sexism, and other oppressions have affected you and your activism.
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5. What are the 3 most important legislative or administrative advocacy issues facing students today? Based on your response, and the Statewide Advocacy Council Job Description, what excites you the most (about being on SAC)?
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Please respond to the prompts below and write a short essay addressing and answering the questions that follow the scenario. If you would feel more comfortable writing this in another language or would like to arrange for an interview over the phone instead, please contact the Advocacy Program Manager.

6. Gerardo, a sophomore at Mission High School in San Francisco, has been verbally harassed continuously ever since he came out of the closet and decided to be openly affectionate with his boyfriend, Julio. Gerardo would ignore the students that would tease him, insisting that he didn’t want to “stoop to their level.” One day after school as Gerardo was walking toward his locker, a group of boys called him a “fag” and one of them pushed him into a locker, bruising him in the process. A GSA Network youth council member encouraged him to talk to the administration and file a complaint, which he did. When he tried to talk to the principal, the principal said that Gerardo was exaggerating what happened and “making a big deal out of nothing.” Now, Gerardo always has to have someone walking with him down the hall because he’s too afraid to do it by himself. If you were Gerardo’s friend, how would help him solve the problem? In particular, what steps would you have him take to follow up on the complaint that he filed?

7. Katrina, a senior at Hollywood High School, has become increasingly comfortable in hir* identity as transgender as a result of hir own research and after attending a few GSA meetings. Katrina, however, does not feel comfortable using either the male or female bathrooms on campus, but there aren’t any other alternatives at Hollywood HS. When ze attempted to communicate hir problem to the administration, they were confused as to what “transgender” meant and insisted that ze continue using the female bathroom, as ze was obviously female-bodied. If you were an Advocacy Council member who happened to be one of hir classmates, how would you help hir?

* “Ze” and “hir” are gender-neutral pronouns used instead of the typical “him/her” and “he/she.”

8: Please share 3 examples of times that you have taken leadership at school or in your community: