Continuing the SAGA: Sexuality and Gender Acceptance club hosts kickoff breakfast
More stories from Summer Hollingsworth
A poster on Rachel Hull’s classroom door reads “All are welcome here.” Hull is the adviser for the SAGA club, and the message is one the organization has taken on as part of its mission.
The SAGA Club kicked off the school year with an informational breakfast for interested students.
On Sept 5, CHS held its SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance) club breakfast in room S126. Organized by the co-presidents of SAGA, Ryan O’Hagan and Summer Kristofek, the breakfast also included the introduction of the club officers, and a flyer talking about the club was given out.
The flyer, which included SAGA’s 4 main events, the Anti-Bullying Week, the Day of Silence, the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Leadership Summit, and the Safe Harbor Drive, discussed the opportunity for more LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, plus) awareness events as well.
Started in 2001, the SAGA club, and the school district in general, have insured exclusivity for the students here at CHS for years and will continue to do so. The club (which began as a GSA) was one of the first in a Pennsylvania school district and has a long history of making LGBTQ+ students feel more accepted and relaxed while going through their high school years.
“It [is] the oldest one in the state of Pennsylvania, in all the school districts. It’s been around for 17 years,” said the club’s former adviser Kevin Wagner.
The breakfast was mostly an informational meeting, focused on giving students a chance to gain some knowledge of what the club is and what it does. Although it doesn’t have many hard rules, the club does its best to make sure that every student feels welcome and accepted.
According to current adviser Rachel Hull, this is one of the main reasons the club exists.
“I think it’s very important that all people feel accepted,” she said. “You’ll see people, they gather to where they feel safe… and I feel that it’s important to offer that safe place here at the high school.”
Even though not all schools have a GSA or SAGA club, most have some sort of support system for its LGBTQ+ students, since they offer a chance for young LGBTQ+ people to meet other people who are in the community, as well as allies that support the community despite not being in it themselves.
“It makes you more educated on the topic, I would say it leads you into making a difference,” said Lillian England, a CHS freshman.
The club plays a huge part in having a safe and happy school environment for all and plans to continue its service to the community this year.
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Summer is a 14 year old staff writer who loves listening to music, reading, learning new things, and writing. Even though she spends a lot of time immersed...
Anonymous • Nov 28, 2018 at 12:57 pm
I wish more people were aware that CHS has a SAGA club. Speaking as a now senior transgender student, the resources and support system likely found within the club, would have been super helpful during my freshman year. Though I have never faced harassment, I have had friends who have and it’s so important for LGBT kids to feel safe and have a sense of community.