The GSA, Gay Straight Alliance, is a club many schools have, and any student here at Hamburg can join by signing up or asking Mrs. Eshbach. The purpose of the GSA is to support and educate students and staff on LGBTQ issues and people. The advisor of the club, Mrs. Eshbach, expresses that this club is used as a form of outreach to students. This club also supports charities and does lots of fundraising for LGBT causes. 

     A junior in the club, Isha Kaur, says she enjoys this club because it allows her to hang out with people who she can relate to. She mentioned her favorite part of the club is making people feel safe and acknowledged just as the club did to her. 

     There was a study done by GLESEN on how having a GSA can affect a school environment. Schools with GSA programs make LGBTQ students feel safer and acknowledged. GLESEN says in schools without a GSA, only 56 percent of students know a supportive adult, but in schools with a GSA program, that number goes up to 84 percent. 

     Hamburg and its alumni are working hard toward being accepting, and the GSA is taking hefty steps forward.

     For more information visit, https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Gay-Straight%20Alliances.pdf