LIGALY’s National Coming Out Day School Awareness Campaign: Making Schools Safer
The Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) National Coming Out Day School Awareness Campaign (NCOD Campaign) aims to create supportive schools that are free from homophobia, heterosexism, and transphobia. This year, the NCOD campaign took place on October 10th and has been the biggest year yet.
The NCOD Campaign is simple: It is a one-day campaign that engages an entire community to take a stand against bullying, harassment, and anti-GLBT violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth.
This year, 61 schools throughout Long Island participated and 19 NCOD trainings were held to raise awareness and put a stop to anti-GLBT language like “That’s so gay.” In total, over 36,600 rainbow ribbons were cut to show support for coming out for safer schools, as well as 15,000 “Ally” stickers (to display support for GLBT students) were distributed throughout the community — including 3,000 palm cards and over 1,000 posters.
This initiative is especially important because bullying and violence are serious problems in our schools. Just look at the statistics: nine out of ten GLBT students experience harassment in their schools and more than a third of students felt unsafe because of their gender expression. During National Coming Out Day, communities can make a visible statement about reducing harassment and supporting safety in our schools by participating in LIGALY’s NCOD campaign.
As part of the campaign, participants received LIGALY’s campaign organizing manual, which is designed for youth to read and take leadership in the annual School Awareness Campaign. The manual includes step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a campaign alongside posters and palm cards to help raise awareness. This initiative has developed collaborative partnerships with over 100 school districts throughout Nassau and Suffolk County and has been growing steadily every year.
Programs of LIGALY’s School Awareness Campaign include: workshops for students, trainings for school staff and administrators, Safe Schools Team, GSA Summits, Safe Schools Sticker Campaign, Day of Silence, and Night of Noise. The initiative reaches tens of thousands of Long Islanders each year. NCOD campaigns also serve as a great first impression to increase visibility and support for Gay Straight Alliance Clubs. If there is one in your school, join it. If not, LIGALY can help you start one.
If you would like to learn more about NCOD, or would like more information and learn how to get involved, please visit www.LIGALY.org or email [email protected].