Subject: strictly fyi: Tell Lady Gaga, THIS is how we can Make It Better
From: "Reis, Beth"
Date: 9/26/2011 1:14 PM
To: NEWS@safeschoolscoalition.org

Dear Safe Schools Coalition Members and Friends:
 
Thank you to the Gay-Straight Alliance Network's Make It Better Project for the following message ...
 
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.

We've been through this before. We cannot go through this again. We can and must Make It Better.

There are plenty of ways for you to participate in Make It Better Semester, and we hope you write letters, put up posters, and create videos. But this fall, we're not acting alone. In response to Jamey's death, Lady Gaga tweeted: "Bullying must become illegal."

Criminalizing bullying is not the answer. There are proven, positive ways - from starting and supporting Gay-Straight Alliance clubs to intervening when slurs occur - to Make It Better. Today, GSA Network youth activists are in Sacramento talking to legislators, after successfully passing the FAIR Education Act and a comprehensive anti-bullying policy in California. It's important now more than ever to stick to these concrete steps, and not turn to punitive, reactionary measures -- like "zero tolerance" -- that cause more harm than good. 

Lady Gaga means the best, and we love her activism. So let's help her fight for social justice by telling her how we are already making it better right now, every day, in our communities through positive measures. Let's tell her this is how we can Make It Better.

Are you in a Gay-Straight Alliance club? Did you advocate for anti-bullying policies in your community's school that spell out that nobody can discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression? Did you make sure those policies were posted in the hallways and on your school's website? Did you train your teachers to intervene when slurs occur?

Then film a Make It Better video and thank Lady Gaga but tell her: this is how we can Make It Better.

In solidarity, 
Make It Better Project

http://www.makeitbetterproject.org 
Facebook Page: 
http://www.facebook.com/makeitbetterproject 
Twitter: 
http://www.twitter.com/makeitbettergsa  
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/makeitbetterproject 
 
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