The Park Gay Straight Alliance invited speakers to come to their meetings to discuss and inform the students on subjects ranging from healthy relationships to being openly gay in the corporate world. Their most recent one, however, concerned new anti-bullying legislation.

Rick Marsden, works for OutFront Minnesota, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the state. The goal of OutFront is to make Minnesota a state that does not inflict violence on LGBTQ people because of their sexuality, according to their website. This is why they are in such support of the Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act, a bill that was not passed in 2009 and was reintroduced Feb. 25.

“Minnesota has the least effective Anti-Bullying law in the country,” Marsden said. “We need to redefine it to include clear definitions of what ‘bullying’ is, mandate training for teachers, and specific protocol.”

Many believe the current 37-word law does not suffice.

To help raise awareness and support for their cause, OutFront and the Safe Schools For All Coalition organized a Youth Summit, aimed at empowering high school students. The day will include learning about different stereotypes and bullying prevention, followed with a rally at the State Capitol for the Safe Schools Act.

“We need students to come show their support for this bill to the legislators,”  Marsden said.
GSA adviser Kyle Sweeney said she supports the students going to the event.

“I think that students should have experience being an active citizens and fighting for what they believe in. It is a great opportunity to be informed, practice advocacy and be a part of the political process,” Sweeney said.

Freshman Elise Bargman attended the event. Bargman said it was a very meaningful day.

“It was very optimistic, very personal. We shared our own stories about how we were affected by bullying,” Bargman said.