Introducing Stardial: Our TQ2S+ Youth Movement Bulletin
Published: Wed, Aug 28, 2024
Welcome to Stardial v.1 and a new school year!
In the years forward, GSA Network’s priority is the regeneration of our clubs and youth movement to transform our schools and communities into the welcoming spaces all young people deserve. At this moment as we hold hands with those starting school journeys together, let us not forget the young people whose paths have been interrupted by borders, violence, and poverty.
Here, beneath the same stars, we offer the GSA Stardial—a new monthly portal that youth leaders and club advisors can use to track where we are relative to our North Star of trans, queer, Two-Spirit youth power. Each month we gather stories, resources, and calls to action to guide us back to each other, back to the North Star of TQ2S+ youth power. Let this be a tool to transform our communities and to spark the regeneration of belonging in every corner of our world!
GSA Registration NOW OPEN
ROLL CALL!!!
Each school year, GSA Network initiates a year-long campaign to expand and strengthen our National GSA Database. By counting and connecting GSAs nationally, we fortify the infrastructure needed to support regional organizing and collective power-building. Registering your club each year maintains your access to learning, support, and action resources.
Mark your club present. Visit gsanetwork.org/gsa-registration to register!
Want to keep up with our campaign? Follow us on Instagram for giveaways, resources + community.
GSA Year-Start Resources
This September, GSA Network is launching STAR School, a virtual hub for GSA political education, curriculum toolkits, and training. Check out last year’s Back2School Zine for an idea of what we are working on this year. What training or guides would feel helpful to your GSA club?
There have been countless days searching for the perfect recipe for connection, believing that somewhere, in the changing winds of each new school year, we might find the secret ingredient of closeness. As the seasons shift and the weight of election years insists on our attention, the emotional landscape of our communities heightens and tenses. Yet, even in this tension, we must remind ourselves that what we bring to this moment—our best—is not a fixed measure but a unique, ever-changing essence that is enough, more than enough, when it is positioned as part of a whole.
Our years of GSA organizing have woven a tapestry of lessons, showing us the patterns that create true connection. We have witnessed TQ2S+ youth, fierce and unwavering, standing firm in their rights to gather, to be, to connect. In these gatherings, GSA clubs have transformed the landscapes of schools, dismantling the pervasive myth of disconnection that the culture of traditional schooling often perpetuates. Diverse in our identities, yet united in our purpose, we’ve seen that community is not just possible but essential.
It’s easy to fall into isolation’s void in the crowded halls of a school, the narrow halls of a home…to believe the lie that we are alone. But the truth, woven into the very fabric of our existence, is that we are never truly on our own. Everything around us is intertwined, a web of connections that we sometimes lose sight of amidst the noise. At GSA Network, ‘network’ is the essence of our being. It reminds us that we are bound together by invisible threads, resilient and strong, creating something far more powerful than any one of us could be alone.
Networking often carries the weight of capitalist intentions—seeking profit, power, status. But we invite you to step back, to reimagine this web of connections not as a means to an end, but as a living, breathing network of relationships. Indigenous communities have long held this wisdom, structuring their societies around the sacred value of connection. “If we see true connection as a form of wealth, then our network becomes our true net worth,” as Kierra Johnson of the LGBTQ+ Task Force beautifully puts it.
This reimagining is a necessary shift for our communities. Nature itself offers us countless examples: mycelium, beehives, coral reefs. The most resilient ecosystems are those that lean into their connections, that thrive through balance and reciprocal care.
Strong networks, like the ones we build through our GSA clubs, youth leadership programs and cross movement organizing show us the way forward. They teach us to embrace our interconnectedness, to celebrate our differences, and to understand that our diversity is our strength. These networks remind us to support one another, to share generously, and to adapt to the changes that come our way.
This dynamic can also be seen in our public educational settings. When competitive values are prioritized over students' agency, safety, imagination, and grace, schools limit their options and potential. Education can either be an instrument of liberation or oppression—so let our schools teach young people to be part of a community by engaging them as a community. We can model and encourage interdependence.
So, how do GSA clubs live out this networked reality? By gathering, supporting, and acting together.
Gather your people—reach out, stretch towards one another, and create a community with soft malleable marrow.
Support your people—love them, care for them, and share what you have, knowing that in giving, you also receive.
And act with your people—move together, strong and unwavering, knowing that when we move as one, we are unstoppable.
GSA Minigrants
Are you planning to kick off a campaign, organize an event, or grow your GSA club this school year? We’re here to support you! Apply for the Youth Freedom Fund to receive a $500 mini-grant to help your GSA thrive.
To qualify, ensure your club is registered with us this year and has the backing of an adult advisor or school administrator. The application should be completed by your club’s President, Vice President, or Adult Advisor.
Not ready to apply yet, or is your GSA still getting started? No worries! Applications will be accepted at the beginning of each month, starting August through November.
Apply to the Youth Freedom Fund. Let’s devise freedom together.
Questions? Email us at development@gsanetwork.org.
Trans & Nonbinary Youth Leadership
The time has come—applications for the National Trans Youth Council (TRUTH) and Roses Council are officially open!
If you’re trans or nonbinary and between 14-18, this is your moment to step into your power. TRUTH is a collective of fierce young leaders who are shaping public understanding, building empathy, and igniting a movement for liberation through the transformative force of storytelling and media organizing. As a council member, your voice matters, and so does your work–that’s why we’re offering an educational award of $300 each quarter, adding up to $900 a year, to support your growth and impact.
The Roses Program is a dedicated initiative focused on empowering Black and brown trans femmes and girls, ages 14-18. Originating from the TRUTH Program, Roses provides a safe, supportive space where participants can connect, grow, and thrive. Through workshops, mentorship, and community-building activities, the program fosters leadership skills, self-advocacy, and personal development. By centering the experiences of trans femmes and girls of color, The Roses Program and Council are committed to creating a future where all can live authentically and with dignity.
Apply here: ourtranstruth.org/gjlp-application-2024
Don’t wait—applications close on September 6, 2024.
GSA Network of California
Join us for monthly membership meetings (last Thursdays) where GSA club leaders from across California are invited to gather (virtually), learn, and receive resources to take back to their GSAs! We invite you and your club members to represent your school, participate and weigh in on statewide Trans and Queer (LGBTQ+) issues in California!
At this first meeting on September 26th, we will have activities for youth to meet other GSA leaders from across the state, share information about how to get involved with membership this year and learn about our programs offered at GSA Network! Register at gsanetwork.org/ca.
Thank you for reading the first installment of Stardial. We want to leave you with this question to discuss in your meeting spaces, over a meal, or in your heart.
What have you learned from nature about the power of networks, and how can we use that wisdom to strengthen our communities?
(Feel free to respond to this newsletter with your learnings, as well as any questions and ideas you’d like to suggest for future Stardials.)
This year, may each GSA club and youth leader feel the profound depth of our connection and the strength of our network, especially in those moments when it is needed the most.
we love you,
Maya LaFlamme & J. Gia Loving
GSA Network Co-Executive Directors
