Thank you all so much for your support of the Make It Better Project -- and your work to make it better for LGBT youth in your community and around the world!
The project was planned to only last a year, but we've been so impressed by the efforts it's inspired that we want to keep it...
Great new Make It Better video from the University of Akron LGBTU! Check it out:
We are so saddened to hear that Phillip Parker, a gay 14-year-old student in Tennessee, took his own life last Friday. According to the Huffington Post, Phillip experience serious bullying because of his sexual orientation. His grandfather told reporters:
Senator Franken was one of the first people to make a Make It Better video, and we're thrilled that he hasn't stopped there. His Student Non-Discrimination Act would ban discrimination and harassment in schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity -- an incredible step towards creating...
A few months ago, we congratulated the Girl Scouts of Colorado on their inclusion of a 7-year-old transgender girl who wanted to join.
This post is the second in a series from Laura Wadden, GSA Network’s National Program Manager, who just returned from a 9-day road trip through Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. It is cross-posted from GSANetwork.org.
Over 1,328 miles, 9 days and visiting 5 organizations, I...
Make It Better - Get Congress to Move on Anti-Bullying Legislation
By R. Judy Flesher
Cross-posted from The New Civil Rights Movement. Join this great campaign to get Congress to act on anti-bullying legislation!
Yesterday, we saw a news story about a couple of fierce Gay-Straight Alliance youth activists confronting Michele Bachmann about LGBT rights. Turns out, this story gets better: there's video.
Watch it and witness the amazing courage and activism of Iowa high school students!
Young people and adults who spend time in middle and high schools know that Gay-Straight Alliance clubs make it better.
In the next week and a half, the Make It Better Project will feature updates from Gay-Straight Alliance Network's National Programs Manager, who is on a road trip to make it better! Read the kickoff blog and watch for more from Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, and Tennessee!
Two Michigan teens have decided to stand up to their bullying legislature, and demand that they make it better.
YA authors can make it better!
Kat Kruger, freelance writer and YA vlogger, got tired of telling young people to wait for better when young adult authors can take action to Make It Better. Check out her awesome Make It Better video below, calling on all YA authors to make it better and end bullying...
Wow. From the Associated Press:
Lady Gaga is launching a foundation with the help of the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University.
The Grammy-winning singer announced Wednesday that she is launching the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on youth empowerment and "issues like self-...
Check out this amazing video from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to learn the first steps to start a Gay-Straight Alliance club in your school!
Must-watch Make It Better video from the amazing youth activists at TrevorSpace! After watching, check out the Trevor Project and TrevorSpace, an LGBT youth social networking site supporting young people dealing with harassment and bullying.
Criminalization Can't Make It Better
The following post was originally published at Policy Mic in response to Professor Kevin Nadal's "Does It Get Better?"
Professor Kevin Nadal is absolutely right on one front: We need to Make It Better for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied youth....
Today's LGBT History Month icon is Constance McMillen, the Mississippi student who made headlines with her fight to bring her girlfriend to prom. Constance showed that young people have the power to create change – so celebrate her day by spreading the message that young people can make it better!
Tomorrow is Spirit Day -- a day for you to show your support for LGBT youth simply by wearing purple!
We want to shine a spotlight on this amazing new Make It Better video from One Colorado and Colorado GSA Network for Ally Week. Do you like awesome youth activists? Prominent and committed public allies? A kickass message? Watch this video:
We were devastated to hear this weekend that another young person died by suicide.
Jamie Hubley, a 15-year-old student from Ottawa, Canada, had posted on the internet about his experiences as a gay youth and his struggles with his own mental health.
According to the Advocate, he suffered from...
What’s the best way to combat bullying? Does “It Gets Better” send the right message? Join the debate now over at PolicyMic!
Then, check out the "other side" of the argument from Make It Better Project's Jill Marcellus: Criminalization Can't Make It Better
Earlier this week, we asked folks to make it better for LGBT and allied youth in Tennessee by signing this Change.org petition.
It's bad enough when principals try to block a Gay-Straight Alliance from forming in their school, but one principal in Tennessee allegedly took his hostility towards LGBT youth further: he verbally and physically assaulted a student for supporting a GSA club.
Tell the Monroe County School District...
Tell Lady Gaga how YOU Make It Better
Last week, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer died by suicide. He was part of the LGBT community, he had been bullied and harassed because of his sexual orientation, and he had even created an It Gets Better video.
The following piece by GSA Network and the Make It Better Project was originally published on the Huffington Post and can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-valdez/hey-lady-gaga-make-it-better_b_978369.html
Updated 9/21/11 - Week of Action now: October 19-26
Campaign fliers and posters now available!
It's back-to-school for LGBT and allied youth -- but not back to bullying. We're making sure this fall isn't like last fall with Make It Better Semester, starting at the end of September and...
USA Today featured the Make It Better Project and Gay-Straight Alliance Network in a feature on LGBT youth empowerment! Click below for a larger version:
Emily Coffin is a senior at Saugus High School in Saugus, California and a youth trainer at this year's National Gathering of GSA Networks, which begins today in Washington, DC.
I'm thrilled to be joining Gay-Straight Alliance clubs from around the country at the National Gathering of GSA...
Make It Better Summer online sessions have begun -- and if you missed the Orientation Session, the recording is now up, in full, for you to watch! Check it out here.
Benji Delgadillo is a senior at San Juan Hills High School in Orange County, California. He serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for Gay-Straight Alliance Network and has been a leading activist for the FAIR Education Act.
Want to understand the challenges, the hopeful signs, the seriousness, and the promise of the struggle to create safer schools for LGBT students in America?
Try visiting Minnesota's largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin.
Teachers can make it better by becoming Gay-Straight Alliance advisers, coming out, incorporating LGBT people into their class materials, and creating safe spaces...
...if they have the job support and security to be openly LGBT or allied in the classroom.
"What if I just want to read comics all day? How do you make me care?"
It's another busy day at Netroots Nation, and I've got lots to report from the youth panel I attended this morning (sneak preview: "No youth + no hip-hop = no movement").
For the moment, though, I think I'll stop talking and let some undocumented immigrant youth speak for themselves. Below is the...
Nobody wants to yell at an ally. Straight allies play an essential role in combating bullying and campaigning for and with LGBT youth, as Gay-Straight Alliance clubs prove daily. Adult allies greatly advance youth activism (not least of which by writing a letter or checking out this page, of...
With many thanks to Mike Rogers, there's a Make It Better Project presence at Netroots Nation this year! Netroots Nation is an annual convention for progressive bloggers and activists to exchange ideas about social justice movements and online activism. Today is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and...
It’s been a high-powered week for LGBT youth. The White House held a two-day LGBT Youth Summit, the first of its kind. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a “Dear Colleague” letter affirming official support for Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in schools and colleges. And GSA Network youth...
Welcome to the (better) Make It Better Project!
Gay-Straight Alliance Network launched the Make It Better Project in October 2010 to raise a question left out of the national dialogue about LGBT youth and the bullying epidemic: what can we do to make it better?
In recent months, we’re happy...
Fighting for Change 
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