The Pandemic’s Impact on NYC LGBTQ+ Clubs
High school students in New York City discuss their experiences leading LGBTQ+ clubs during the pandemic and share their plans for next year.
By Angelina Zhao
The streets bustled with excitement as people performed music, cheered and wore bright smiles during New York City’s PrideFest on June 27, 2021. While participants marched exuberantly down the street, flags and banners supporting the LGBTQ+ community flapped in the wind. As Victoria Sepp recalls, “(I had) never seen so much respect and so much joy for people (who are) a part of LGBTQ+ before.”
Sepp participated in the event with a few of her friends and shared the experience with classmates and others on social media. As the student body vice president at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences in Brooklyn, Sepp supports her peers and strives to help them feel comfortable at school. Publicizing events like the Pride parade enables her to demonstrate her support for the LGBTQ+ community, which is important because many school LGBTQ+ clubs and groups in New York City have suffered from a lack of participation and awareness during the pandemic.
People crowding to see a float performance at the 2021 PrideFest in New York City. Photo by Victoria Sepp
“(Members of the LGBTQ+ community) experience real problems that people (who are) not part of the community would not realize on a regular day basis,” Sepp says. “(Some) think, ‘they’re just people with their own sets of ideas,’ but they don’t realize the number of struggles that they go through.”
For instance, members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community are sometimes subject to hateful and aggressive messages. It is especially easy for students to mock another’s sexuality, gender identity or beliefs online. These insults — whether intentional or unintentional — can seriously impact students’ mental and emotional health.
Many schools try to address these problems by providing education about the LGBTQ+ community and raising awareness about the challenges they face. In New York, for example, most high schools have student-run LGBTQ+ or Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs, which promote inclusion and acceptance and work to reduce bullying and intolerance.
“Pride Night” is a virtual event where students learn and communicate with peers about LGBTQ pride. Courtesy James Madison High School’s GSA Club 2021
During the pandemic, LGBTQ+ and GSA club leaders faced the challenges of online learning and communication. Matthew Norris, GSA president at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, notes that even with social media, it was difficult to share information and advertise events. Though he and vice president Kim Montesinos continued the club virtually in the 2020-2021 school year, only a few members attended the online meetings.
Despite low participation levels, Norris and Montesinos adapted, continuing to conduct their lessons — including discussions on Pride Month, LGBTQ+ history and the Stonewall riots — online. They even hosted a virtual LGBTQ Pride Night, where participants learned about the importance of pride and enjoyed activities like Kahoot!, drawing and more.
Because many annual school events and gatherings were canceled due to the pandemic, Ruth Rocker, GSA president at Brooklyn Technical High School, hopes that students will engage and learn more about the LGBTQ+ community in the upcoming school year. “(I’m excited) to talk a little bit more about the news and how legislation is affecting our rights as queer people and our representation as queer people, in particular all the legislation that has recently been proposed to restrict trans students (and) children’s rights,” she says.
A “Day Of Silence” was held at Brooklyn Technical High School to promote awareness about bullying and harassment toward the school’s LGBTQ+ community. Courtesy Brooklyn Technical High School’s GSA Club 2021
Norris and Montesinos are also looking forward to planning in-person events for next year, including fundraisers, such as bake sales and casual gatherings. “Icebreaker events (and) making new friends can really invite students (to look) past sexuality and race, so (that) they can see each other more on a personal basis as opposed to what others stereotype them as,” Montesinos says.
Sepp, Norris, Montesinos, Rocker and other activists encourage others to reach out and support public LGBTQ+ groups, such as The Trevor Project, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) and New York City’s Heritage of Pride, in addition to school clubs and smaller nonprofits. Contributing to these groups helps them reach the goal of positively impacting LGBTQ+ youth. With increased participation and recognition, these groups can be more successful in their antibullying initiatives and their efforts to educate others about microaggression and hate toward the LGBTQ+ community.
Genderqueer activist Lillian Lennon stresses that it’s important for young people to foster accepting communities. “I’ve found that there are still so many discrepancies and so much inequity and inequality when it comes to our societal whole and community in general,” she says. “We need young, new leaders to step up and to start leading.”
