Gay Straight Alliance's name called into question National organization has same moniker as high school's new club BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer ALLENTOWN - The new Gay Straight Alliance at Allentown High School may need to change its name. The Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education approved the creation of the new club in January. But at the board's Feb. 21 meeting, a local resident expressed concerns about the national organization behind the official Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) name. Upper Freehold resident Bruce Novozinsky said he was "taken aback" when he learned that the board had approved a GSA at Allentown High School. He said he researched the roots of the organization and then contacted Principal Christopher Nagy. "At the time, I did not feel Nagy and their staff did their homework," he said. Novozinsky said he also e-mailed his concerns to board members, the administration and the GSA faculty adviser. Novozinsky said he wanted to offer his apologies and support. "Chris Nagy did do his homework," Novozinsky said, adding that the principal read his concerns about GSAs at the high school level and, "shockingly," at the middle school level as well. He said he was confident in Nagy's judgment. However, Novozinsky said the GSA is a trademarked name affiliated with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In his discussion about the GSA, Novozinsky quoted Linda Harvey, who is the president of Mission America, which is a pro-family organization that monitors homosexual activism, the occult and New Age influences on American youth, according to its Web site. Harvey claims that just about every type of sexual practice imaginable is "celebrated" and even graphically described in first-person stories by students in GLSEN's recommended literature, and that GLSEN also supports gender distortion through cross-dressing, even in books recommended for elementary school children. She further alleged that criminal underage sexual contact between adults and minors is a frequent casual theme in these materials, Novozinsky said. According to Novozinsky, GLSEN also uses the word "queer" to describe gays and lesbians. "If we truly believe there is a need for such a club, I've outlined my concerns," he said. "I ask that the club be renamed and its charter examined." Novozinsky said he would write a personal check for a club logo. "These are kids, not queers, regardless of their orientation and convictions," he said. According to a 2004 national poll commissioned by GLSEN, approximately 5 percent of America's high school students identify as lesbian or gay, which amounts to roughly three-quarters of a million students nationwide. This percentage would translate to, on average, every classroom in America having at least one student who identifies as lesbian or gay and a majority of students in the classroom knowing at least one gay or lesbian person, whether it is a teacher, a classmate or a family member. The GLSEN Web site states that more than 3,000 student clubs commonly known as gay straight alliances are registered with GLSEN. "This number does not serve as an exact number for how many [clubs] exist," the Web site states. "Many student groups work on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues but are not named GSAs, while other student clubs may exist without having the information to be in touch with GLSEN or choose not to register with us." Nagy said that students are familiar with nearby schools in Princeton and West Windsor that have GSAs. He said that the name for the club at AHS was presented by students. "Hundreds of schools have the name GSA as a club," Nagy said. He said that supervisors of any club should talk to him if the clubs are not reflective of school policies, code of conduct, and/or what AHS promotes. Eight or nine students are currently involved in the GSA, according to Nagy. Board Attorney Viola Lordi said the question is whether AHS's acceptance of the GSA name, which is the same as the national group, has some legal binding. She asked whether the AHS group would have to get approvals from the national group, and Nagy replied that it would not. Board President Joseph Stampe said that perhaps students would be willing to change the name of the club if those who started it have no interest in aligning themselves with the national organization. Board member Christopher Shaw said the board voted for the club but did not have the option to vote no. "What did we approve?" he asked. "There don't seem to be many instances where we cannot approve clubs." Shaw asked if the board could deny the stipend of clubs with a religious or sexual nature since "they are such hotbeds." Lordi said that under equal access law, the board could not disallow the stipend as long as the club's content is not illegal. Board member Jeanette Bressi said that nationally, a number of boards have not approved GSAs, but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought winning challenges to those disapprovals. Board member Bill Borkowski said that using a trademarked name could imply that the school is doing something the national organization is doing. "That should change now," he said. Board member Beth Trent, who is a teacher at a local high school, said her school has a GSA. "As far as I know, members of the club are not of one orientation or the other," she said. "The club does promote alliances between people. There are many members in the high school I teach in." Nagy later said that AHS's GSA club met twice and elected officers. According to Nagy, the club also created agenda items, which include looking at tolerance, indifference and respect for differences; promoting awareness; holding activities that include all who want to be part of the club; and putting up posters that focus on hatred.