GSA: Need to Know
Let’s be honest-most people reading this have no idea what the GSA is. I base that assumption upon the many confused faces whenever it is brought up over the announcements, and how personally I have been asked multiple times to explain it. So, here’s a breakdown of what a GSA is and how it functions.
A GSA can stand for either Gay-Straight Alliance or Gender-Sexuality Alliance, although the second term is more common now, as it is more inclusive. A typical mission statement of a GSA, as seen on ACLU.org, states the purpose of the group is “To promote tolerance and acceptance throughout the school community and to provide a safe, non-judgmental space as a support network for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Straight youth who share a common vision of social equality.” GSA’s are typically clubs dedicated to creating a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and allies (people who advocate for a safer and more affirming world for the LGBTQ community) to express themselves and support each other. As this is a safe space, it should be clear that homophobic comments or behaviors would not be acceptable during a meeting.
In our district, York has been operating a GSA for many years, called As Is. Sandburg established a GSA only last year, and our GSA is new this year, with faculty sponsors Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Farber, and Ms. Catalano. Our GSA is an important step for LGBT+ students and allies here at Bryan because it makes it clear to others that as students the school is supporting the diverse student population. A GSA especially helps LGBT+ students feel more comfortable in their school environment and offers a place to discuss and deal with identity related topics and any hardships experienced due to being LGBT+. There is no permission slip required to come and chat or get support from your peers.
So, the next time you hear the announcement “GSA club is this Thursday…” consider coming in now that you know what we’re all about ! Please understand that all of us believe in treating one another with respect. You are welcome to come and show your support; no matter how you identify.
Let’s be honest-most people reading this have no idea what the GSA is. I base that assumption upon the many confused faces whenever it is brought up over the announcements, and how personally I have been asked multiple times to explain it. So, here’s a breakdown of what a GSA is and how it functions.
A GSA can stand for either Gay-Straight Alliance or Gender-Sexuality Alliance, although the second term is more common now, as it is more inclusive. A typical mission statement of a GSA, as seen on ACLU.org, states the purpose of the group is “To promote tolerance and acceptance throughout the school community and to provide a safe, non-judgmental space as a support network for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Straight youth who share a common vision of social equality.” GSA’s are typically clubs dedicated to creating a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and allies (people who advocate for a safer and more affirming world for the LGBTQ community) to express themselves and support each other. As this is a safe space, it should be clear that homophobic comments or behaviors would not be acceptable during a meeting.
In our district, York has been operating a GSA for many years, called As Is. Sandburg established a GSA only last year, and our GSA is new this year, with faculty sponsors Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Farber, and Ms. Catalano. Our GSA is an important step for LGBT+ students and allies here at Bryan because it makes it clear to others that as students the school is supporting the diverse student population. A GSA especially helps LGBT+ students feel more comfortable in their school environment and offers a place to discuss and deal with identity related topics and any hardships experienced due to being LGBT+. There is no permission slip required to come and chat or get support from your peers.
So, the next time you hear the announcement “GSA club is this Thursday…” consider coming in now that you know what we’re all about ! Please understand that all of us believe in treating one another with respect. You are welcome to come and show your support; no matter how you identify.
8th-Grade Girls
Pack The Place Recap
By Mallory Wahr
On November 4th, I went to the 8th-grade girls’ basketball game for Pack-The-Place. They were playing against Hinsdale, and it looked like it was going to be a good game. The theme for the pack-the place was Hawaiian, which was great because I had forgotten about it and was wearing a white shirt and black pants. However, everyone else had remembered the theme, and the crowd was full of people wearing flower necklaces and rainbow shirts. The Bryan girls ran out of their locker room, and the game was on!
1st Quarter:
The game started with a tip off between #40 on Hinsdale and Mia B. It was won by Hinsdale, but Bryan got the ball back. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Hinsdale scored, making it 2-0. Mia P. had a shot, however, it missed and went to Hinsdale. Hinsdale went out of bounds, and the ball went to Stella K., who passed it to Hannah M, who shot it from the 3 point line, but it unfortunately missed. After a few more out of bounds, Stella K. has a breakaway, but the ball eventually goes to Hinsdale. Hannah M. has a shot that bounces out of the rim, and Ava H. has an excellent block. Hinsdale’s #35 scores, making it 0-4 with about a minute left in the quarter. Bryan calls a timeout, and the game starts back up. Stella K. catches a rebound and shoots, and the ball once again enters the rim of the basket but flies out (cue the crowd groans). The other team has a penalty, and Stella K. gets a free throw, however, she misses both. The quarter ends with the score being 0-4, Hinsdale winning.
2nd Quarter:
The 2nd quarter starts with Hinsdale in possession of the ball. They shoot a three-pointer and score, making it 0-7. Stella K. steals the ball, however, Hinsdale still manages to score again. Stella K. scores the first points for Bryan and the score is now 2-9. Hinsdale gets a breakaway that goes out of bounds, and Bryan has the ball. Hannah M. shoots an amazing three-pointer that goes in and the score is now 5-9. Hinsdale gets a free throw, and they make both. Mia P. scores, and Stella K. gets a free throw. She makes both, and we are now at 9-11. Hinsdale calls a timeout. The ball is in Bryan’s possession, but there is a turnover to Hinsdale. After about a minute, Hinsdale gets a free throw and makes both, making the score 5-13. Stella K. gets the ball and a free throw, and she makes 1. Hinsdale gets the ball and scores. Final score for the first half, 10-26.
I’m gonna be honest right now, I know absolutely nothing about basketball. Sure, I know how the game works, but I had to ask our sports-writer extraordinaire (Will Bryk) about 10,000 questions on basketball terms in order to write this correctly. I played basketball for one (1) year in 4th grade, and I quit because I sucked and the kids on my team didn’t pass the ball to me (for good reason). But this paragraph isn’t about me, It’s about the halftime free-throw contest. The name pulled was Kevin K., an 8th grader. By my rough math estimate, Kevin shot about 30 free-throws. I’d say he made about 15. Not bad. But anyways, back to the game!
3rd Quarter:
Bryan starts, however, it is turned over to Hinsdale, who then gets to make two free throws. They make 1. Hinsdale gets the ball and they score again. Hannah M. gets a rebound, but Hinsdale eventually gets the ball back and even more free throws. They miss both, and Bryan gets the ball. After some back-and-forth, Stella K. scores, and our score is now at 14-18. Hannah M. has the ball, but it goes out of bounds and Hinsdale gets it. Bryan calls a timeout with 2 minutes and 20 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Hinsdale has the ball, and the ball goes out of bounds. Bryan gets it and Ava H. scores. However, there is a penalty that results in the points not counting. Stella K. has an amazing free throw that goes in(Cue the crowd cheering). Speaking of the crowd, for the past 5 minutes everyone has been on their feet cheering “D-FENCE!” and something about this must be working, because the score at the end of the 3rd quarter is 17-18, and Bryan is 1 point behind.
4th quarter:
Hannah M. start with the ball, and she passes it to Ava H., who shoots an amazing 3-pointer that goes in. Bryan is now winning, 20-18. A timeout is called, and afterward Hinsdale starts with the ball. It goes out of bounds and is turned over to Bryan. Hannah M. has yet another amazing three-pointer, and the score is now 24-18, with Bryan in the lead. The ball goes to Hinsdale, who then subs out a player. A timeout is called, and the score is still 24-18 with 2 and a ½ minutes left in the game. Bryan starts with the ball, and Stella K. gets two free throws. She makes both, so we’re at 26-18 with 2 minutes and 25 seconds left. Hinsdale gets the ball, however Ava H. gets a rebound and passes it to Mia B., who scores. Hinsdale gets the ball and scores, and then Hinsdale and Bryan change their lineup for the last minute of the game. Hinsdale scores, it’s not enough, and the final score of the game 28-25. “Another One Bites The Dust” starts playing, which seems appropriate for the way this game played out.
Players: Hannah Meyers, Stella Kohl, Ava Hansmann, Mia Barton, Mia Pretzie, Frannie Cunningham, Shannon Cunningham, Riley Crow, Madison Adelsbach?, Julia, Natalie Haske, Elizabeth Kramer, Elise Tague
Coach: Jeremy Thomas Manager: Taryn Stilson
Pack The Place Recap
By Mallory Wahr
On November 4th, I went to the 8th-grade girls’ basketball game for Pack-The-Place. They were playing against Hinsdale, and it looked like it was going to be a good game. The theme for the pack-the place was Hawaiian, which was great because I had forgotten about it and was wearing a white shirt and black pants. However, everyone else had remembered the theme, and the crowd was full of people wearing flower necklaces and rainbow shirts. The Bryan girls ran out of their locker room, and the game was on!
1st Quarter:
The game started with a tip off between #40 on Hinsdale and Mia B. It was won by Hinsdale, but Bryan got the ball back. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Hinsdale scored, making it 2-0. Mia P. had a shot, however, it missed and went to Hinsdale. Hinsdale went out of bounds, and the ball went to Stella K., who passed it to Hannah M, who shot it from the 3 point line, but it unfortunately missed. After a few more out of bounds, Stella K. has a breakaway, but the ball eventually goes to Hinsdale. Hannah M. has a shot that bounces out of the rim, and Ava H. has an excellent block. Hinsdale’s #35 scores, making it 0-4 with about a minute left in the quarter. Bryan calls a timeout, and the game starts back up. Stella K. catches a rebound and shoots, and the ball once again enters the rim of the basket but flies out (cue the crowd groans). The other team has a penalty, and Stella K. gets a free throw, however, she misses both. The quarter ends with the score being 0-4, Hinsdale winning.
2nd Quarter:
The 2nd quarter starts with Hinsdale in possession of the ball. They shoot a three-pointer and score, making it 0-7. Stella K. steals the ball, however, Hinsdale still manages to score again. Stella K. scores the first points for Bryan and the score is now 2-9. Hinsdale gets a breakaway that goes out of bounds, and Bryan has the ball. Hannah M. shoots an amazing three-pointer that goes in and the score is now 5-9. Hinsdale gets a free throw, and they make both. Mia P. scores, and Stella K. gets a free throw. She makes both, and we are now at 9-11. Hinsdale calls a timeout. The ball is in Bryan’s possession, but there is a turnover to Hinsdale. After about a minute, Hinsdale gets a free throw and makes both, making the score 5-13. Stella K. gets the ball and a free throw, and she makes 1. Hinsdale gets the ball and scores. Final score for the first half, 10-26.
I’m gonna be honest right now, I know absolutely nothing about basketball. Sure, I know how the game works, but I had to ask our sports-writer extraordinaire (Will Bryk) about 10,000 questions on basketball terms in order to write this correctly. I played basketball for one (1) year in 4th grade, and I quit because I sucked and the kids on my team didn’t pass the ball to me (for good reason). But this paragraph isn’t about me, It’s about the halftime free-throw contest. The name pulled was Kevin K., an 8th grader. By my rough math estimate, Kevin shot about 30 free-throws. I’d say he made about 15. Not bad. But anyways, back to the game!
3rd Quarter:
Bryan starts, however, it is turned over to Hinsdale, who then gets to make two free throws. They make 1. Hinsdale gets the ball and they score again. Hannah M. gets a rebound, but Hinsdale eventually gets the ball back and even more free throws. They miss both, and Bryan gets the ball. After some back-and-forth, Stella K. scores, and our score is now at 14-18. Hannah M. has the ball, but it goes out of bounds and Hinsdale gets it. Bryan calls a timeout with 2 minutes and 20 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Hinsdale has the ball, and the ball goes out of bounds. Bryan gets it and Ava H. scores. However, there is a penalty that results in the points not counting. Stella K. has an amazing free throw that goes in(Cue the crowd cheering). Speaking of the crowd, for the past 5 minutes everyone has been on their feet cheering “D-FENCE!” and something about this must be working, because the score at the end of the 3rd quarter is 17-18, and Bryan is 1 point behind.
4th quarter:
Hannah M. start with the ball, and she passes it to Ava H., who shoots an amazing 3-pointer that goes in. Bryan is now winning, 20-18. A timeout is called, and afterward Hinsdale starts with the ball. It goes out of bounds and is turned over to Bryan. Hannah M. has yet another amazing three-pointer, and the score is now 24-18, with Bryan in the lead. The ball goes to Hinsdale, who then subs out a player. A timeout is called, and the score is still 24-18 with 2 and a ½ minutes left in the game. Bryan starts with the ball, and Stella K. gets two free throws. She makes both, so we’re at 26-18 with 2 minutes and 25 seconds left. Hinsdale gets the ball, however Ava H. gets a rebound and passes it to Mia B., who scores. Hinsdale gets the ball and scores, and then Hinsdale and Bryan change their lineup for the last minute of the game. Hinsdale scores, it’s not enough, and the final score of the game 28-25. “Another One Bites The Dust” starts playing, which seems appropriate for the way this game played out.
Players: Hannah Meyers, Stella Kohl, Ava Hansmann, Mia Barton, Mia Pretzie, Frannie Cunningham, Shannon Cunningham, Riley Crow, Madison Adelsbach?, Julia, Natalie Haske, Elizabeth Kramer, Elise Tague
Coach: Jeremy Thomas Manager: Taryn Stilson
Dance Class
By: Meow
Dance class, a time of fun for almost everyone who joins. Many people in our school find this to be an amazing and wonderful time, myself included. I enjoy the class, but I think there are some areas that could be changed and would make the class a better experience for everyone.
First, you should be able to bring your own water. When I was in seventh grade, there were around one hundred students just in the seventh-grade dance class. During the five-minute breaks, we would each get a plastic cup filled with water. We would have thirty seconds to drink the water before we had to throw it away. Now, I am not a VSCO girl, but I do care about the environment. It is such a waste of plastic and water to give out one plastic cup of water to everyone who joins. There are around two hundred plastic cups that are being thrown away every Friday for two months. That is a lot of plastic. If we got to bring our own water, we wouldn’t have to waste all that plastic and water. According to Ecowatch, most Americans throw away “one hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic per year.” That is a lot of plastic that is ruining our world. The last thing this world needs is more plastic. While some people might still use plastic water bottles, there will be some that will bring reusable water bottles, every little bit helps the world. The United States uses two-hundred sixteen trillion gallons of water every year. The United States is in second place for the most water used in the world, only beaten by China. It is a waste of water and plastic and it needs to end.
Also, we should be able to have a better place to put our coats then a corner in front of the gym lockers. In the video for the instructions for dance class, it says “try to find a safe place for your coat and cell phone.” The gym floor is not a safe place to put our belongings. Once the class ends, you have all of the students running towards two corners of the gym to get their things. It is really easy to accidentally step on something when getting your belongings. I’m not sure how putting everyone’s stuff in a corner where it can get stepped on is safe. A safer place to put our stuff is we could have tables on both sides of the hallway outside of the gym to put our belongings once we stop giving out plastic cups of water.
People should have more time to actually drink their water, so they can stay hydrated throughout dance class. According to Give Me Tap, a social enterprise that gives clean water to people, when people stay hydrated they “perform better mentally and physically.” This means they will perform the dances better, and they will be more likely to remember the dance moves. Yes, there is water that is given, but no one can drink thirty seconds worth of water and stay hydrated for one and a half hours doing physical activity.
Third, everyone should be able to learn both parts. While this might take time out of the original plan, it is useful for everyone to know both parts. Even if some students never plan to dance with the same gender, it will help them to know both parts. For example, if someone of the same gender asks you to help them with their part, you won’t be able to help them. Therefore, people won’t learn as much as they could. Also, there are many people in this school that would dance with the same gender, and they would have to learn the other part in order to do so. The entire point of dance class is to learn how to dance. People shouldn’t have to learn an entire part, on their own time, if they go to a class that is supposed to teach them to dance.
Next, there is a lot of sexism in this class. Girls can walk on their own but the teacher always makes the girls stay right at the boys’ side. We, girls, can walk perfectly fine. I know the teachers want it to seem fancier, but we are literally in a school gym. There is no need for the girls to be the “damsel in distress” that can’t even walk on their own. Unless they have a condition that they actually can’t walk, there is no need for this process. Also, the teacher always speaks to the boys. He always says “she turns, you turn” instead of “She turns, he turns” or “girls turn, boys turn.” This isn’t being fair to both genders. Both boys and girls are here, stop only addressing only the boys eighty percent of the time! Now, I know that the PTA can’t do much about this directly but maybe they could ask him to change the way he teaches a little. That would be much appreciated.
Hopefully, we can convince the PTA to make dance class even better by listening to some of these suggestions. If your parents are in the PTA and you agree with some of my points, please feel free to tell them about it. Maybe some of this can be changed soon. Thank you so much for reading and have a great day!
Thank you, PTA, for making dance class a reality. It is an amazing time for all students to have fun and learn something they typically wouldn’t learn anywhere else. This article is not meant to offend you in any way, I just wanted to make it an even better experience for the students in the future. The PTA does so much for our school and as the students here at Bryan, we are so thankful for all you do. Thank you for helping our school to be the amazing place it is!
By: Meow
Dance class, a time of fun for almost everyone who joins. Many people in our school find this to be an amazing and wonderful time, myself included. I enjoy the class, but I think there are some areas that could be changed and would make the class a better experience for everyone.
First, you should be able to bring your own water. When I was in seventh grade, there were around one hundred students just in the seventh-grade dance class. During the five-minute breaks, we would each get a plastic cup filled with water. We would have thirty seconds to drink the water before we had to throw it away. Now, I am not a VSCO girl, but I do care about the environment. It is such a waste of plastic and water to give out one plastic cup of water to everyone who joins. There are around two hundred plastic cups that are being thrown away every Friday for two months. That is a lot of plastic. If we got to bring our own water, we wouldn’t have to waste all that plastic and water. According to Ecowatch, most Americans throw away “one hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic per year.” That is a lot of plastic that is ruining our world. The last thing this world needs is more plastic. While some people might still use plastic water bottles, there will be some that will bring reusable water bottles, every little bit helps the world. The United States uses two-hundred sixteen trillion gallons of water every year. The United States is in second place for the most water used in the world, only beaten by China. It is a waste of water and plastic and it needs to end.
Also, we should be able to have a better place to put our coats then a corner in front of the gym lockers. In the video for the instructions for dance class, it says “try to find a safe place for your coat and cell phone.” The gym floor is not a safe place to put our belongings. Once the class ends, you have all of the students running towards two corners of the gym to get their things. It is really easy to accidentally step on something when getting your belongings. I’m not sure how putting everyone’s stuff in a corner where it can get stepped on is safe. A safer place to put our stuff is we could have tables on both sides of the hallway outside of the gym to put our belongings once we stop giving out plastic cups of water.
People should have more time to actually drink their water, so they can stay hydrated throughout dance class. According to Give Me Tap, a social enterprise that gives clean water to people, when people stay hydrated they “perform better mentally and physically.” This means they will perform the dances better, and they will be more likely to remember the dance moves. Yes, there is water that is given, but no one can drink thirty seconds worth of water and stay hydrated for one and a half hours doing physical activity.
Third, everyone should be able to learn both parts. While this might take time out of the original plan, it is useful for everyone to know both parts. Even if some students never plan to dance with the same gender, it will help them to know both parts. For example, if someone of the same gender asks you to help them with their part, you won’t be able to help them. Therefore, people won’t learn as much as they could. Also, there are many people in this school that would dance with the same gender, and they would have to learn the other part in order to do so. The entire point of dance class is to learn how to dance. People shouldn’t have to learn an entire part, on their own time, if they go to a class that is supposed to teach them to dance.
Next, there is a lot of sexism in this class. Girls can walk on their own but the teacher always makes the girls stay right at the boys’ side. We, girls, can walk perfectly fine. I know the teachers want it to seem fancier, but we are literally in a school gym. There is no need for the girls to be the “damsel in distress” that can’t even walk on their own. Unless they have a condition that they actually can’t walk, there is no need for this process. Also, the teacher always speaks to the boys. He always says “she turns, you turn” instead of “She turns, he turns” or “girls turn, boys turn.” This isn’t being fair to both genders. Both boys and girls are here, stop only addressing only the boys eighty percent of the time! Now, I know that the PTA can’t do much about this directly but maybe they could ask him to change the way he teaches a little. That would be much appreciated.
Hopefully, we can convince the PTA to make dance class even better by listening to some of these suggestions. If your parents are in the PTA and you agree with some of my points, please feel free to tell them about it. Maybe some of this can be changed soon. Thank you so much for reading and have a great day!
Thank you, PTA, for making dance class a reality. It is an amazing time for all students to have fun and learn something they typically wouldn’t learn anywhere else. This article is not meant to offend you in any way, I just wanted to make it an even better experience for the students in the future. The PTA does so much for our school and as the students here at Bryan, we are so thankful for all you do. Thank you for helping our school to be the amazing place it is!
Acceleration vs. Bryan Time: a Student’s Perspective
By: Meow
What is Acceleration, and is it the best option for students? The answer to this question really depends on who you’re asking. Most students will have absolutely no clue how to answer. Both are marvelous for students, but which one benefits us, students, more?
To answer that question, we have to understand what both of them are. “Bryan Time” was a time when students could do homework, go to their teachers for help, and time to catch up on work they haven’t yet completed. The district decided to exchange Bryan Time for Acceleration. Acceleration is a rotation that students learn skills that they can use to help them in the future. Some of the choices include: sketch noting and intro to the stock market. Acceleration also lets people explore future jobs. For example, creative/mystery writing, film study/movie making, and coding. So, which one should be the one that stays?
What if there was a combination of both Acceleration and Bryan Time? If there was a combination with both, students would have more energy for school and still be able to learn more life skills. If we go with this plan, it could be one day of Bryan Time, one day when students would go to their homeroom, and then the other three days could be time for acceleration. Acceleration is a great thing, but students have a lot of work they have to do along with all of their extracurricular activities. This includes clubs, athletic activities, and other commitments students chose to pursue. Students should have eight to ten hours of sleep a night. Yes, some of this time is taken up by cell-phones, video games, and other electronics, but students might get more sleep every night if they didn’t have as much homework. Some students go to school for seven hours (not including clubs before/after school), then go to an extracurricular activity, then get home really late and then have to do homework. When are they supposed to relax? This would also give students who have been absent, a time for them to catch up on all the work they missed on top of everything they would originally have. If we had something like Bryan Time, students would be more energized and ready to learn for the next school day. They would have had better sleep, not be behind in classes, and time to relax and de-stress their brains.
Yes, this would be taking time out of the acceleration rotation, but to make up for it, we could add another week of the acceleration rotation in, so we aren’t losing too much time any time for Acceleration. This rotation would make student’s lives so much easier, as well as teach us many things that might help us in the future that we wouldn’t learn otherwise. Thank you so much for reading!
By: Meow
What is Acceleration, and is it the best option for students? The answer to this question really depends on who you’re asking. Most students will have absolutely no clue how to answer. Both are marvelous for students, but which one benefits us, students, more?
To answer that question, we have to understand what both of them are. “Bryan Time” was a time when students could do homework, go to their teachers for help, and time to catch up on work they haven’t yet completed. The district decided to exchange Bryan Time for Acceleration. Acceleration is a rotation that students learn skills that they can use to help them in the future. Some of the choices include: sketch noting and intro to the stock market. Acceleration also lets people explore future jobs. For example, creative/mystery writing, film study/movie making, and coding. So, which one should be the one that stays?
What if there was a combination of both Acceleration and Bryan Time? If there was a combination with both, students would have more energy for school and still be able to learn more life skills. If we go with this plan, it could be one day of Bryan Time, one day when students would go to their homeroom, and then the other three days could be time for acceleration. Acceleration is a great thing, but students have a lot of work they have to do along with all of their extracurricular activities. This includes clubs, athletic activities, and other commitments students chose to pursue. Students should have eight to ten hours of sleep a night. Yes, some of this time is taken up by cell-phones, video games, and other electronics, but students might get more sleep every night if they didn’t have as much homework. Some students go to school for seven hours (not including clubs before/after school), then go to an extracurricular activity, then get home really late and then have to do homework. When are they supposed to relax? This would also give students who have been absent, a time for them to catch up on all the work they missed on top of everything they would originally have. If we had something like Bryan Time, students would be more energized and ready to learn for the next school day. They would have had better sleep, not be behind in classes, and time to relax and de-stress their brains.
Yes, this would be taking time out of the acceleration rotation, but to make up for it, we could add another week of the acceleration rotation in, so we aren’t losing too much time any time for Acceleration. This rotation would make student’s lives so much easier, as well as teach us many things that might help us in the future that we wouldn’t learn otherwise. Thank you so much for reading!