by Grace Sly

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Bullying, sexism, racism, classism, homophobia. These prejudices may not seem prevalent at STA but, according to junior Katie Crow, they are there.

“Growing up in a Catholic school, we are taught by Catholic doctrine so there are issues that aren’t addressed,” Crow said. “Some [topics] just don’t get covered in depth, and I think there is definitely some ignorance [at STA].”

To help bring awareness to these matters, Crow founded the new extracurricular, Girls for Social Awareness (GSA). According to her, the organization’s goal is to celebrate and recognize the diversity in the St. Teresa’s community.

The acronym of Girls for Social Awareness is GSA, a familiar sign for other schools’ Gay- Straight Alliance clubs.

Speculation came from many students both outside and within the group that this was not a coincidence.

Crow admits that while the acronym was planned, the coalition is not affiliated with Gay- Straight organizations.

“Since we are a Catholic school, we can not have a GSA due to Catholic teachings and us being a privately funded institutions and we could get shut down,” Crow said. “The fact is that we are not a Gay-Straight Alliance. We cover a lot more issues, which I think is beneficial for us. We can talk about things that other GSAs can’t.”

The club moderator is STA councilor Amanda Johnson who agreed to join because of a shared passion for the club’s causes.

Crow believes that the majority of STA are not socially aware of various challenges facing their peers.

“[Girls for Social Awareness] is here to get rid of ignorance and embrace diversity.” she said.

According to Crow, the meetings take place in the Black Box. The times are currently undetermined but as the membership grows, the dates, locations and times of meetings will become solidified.

For those interested in signing up, Crow says Moodle Messaging her is the best option.

Since this group is an extracurricular, members can be a part of other clubs if they join. Sophomore Betsy Lehr concurrently belongs to GSA, Junior Classical League, and Art Club.

Some may confuse the name “Girls for Social Awareness” with another STA club “Social Justice Club” but members say they are different.

Lehr explained the difference saying GSA deals with topics facing the STA community while Social Justice Club addresses global problems.

According to the STA website, Social Justice club focuses on helping women in need of foreign countries. GSA directs their attention to issues facing local women.

For more clarification on the purpose of GSA, an informational meeting was held in the auditorium on Nov. 30.

At the assembly, six STA club members sat behind a white table to address their audience. The girls came from almost every grade: freshmen Grace Girardeau and Violet Cowdin, juniors Anna Leach, Shelby Hawkins, and Crow and senior Taylor Rees. Each student presented a topic that would be covered in future meetings of the club.

First, Rees talked about bullying with a personal experience.

“Our goal is to let you know this will be a safe place, that you won’t be judged and you have someone to turn to,” she said. “It’s our duty in STA to stand up as dignified women against bullying.”

Hawkins followed with demonstration and insight into sexism, more specifically feminism.

She had audience members list words that came to mind when “feminism” was introduced. Then she brought attention to statistics of gender inequality such as women earning 77 cents to every man’s dollar.

“We will focus on the notion of putting ourselves in a better place to become equal and educating people on how we still have to achieve [equality],” Hawkins said.

Leach spoke without a microphone about the meaning and consequence of racism.

“The more we discuss [racism], the more we can do,” she said. “It takes a lot of people, a movement, and it takes passion to change this idea of racial division.”

The two freshmen, Girardo and Cowdin, shared the floor speaking of classism, or the division of people by financial status.

“Our goal is to bridge the gap,” Cowdin stated.

Finally, Crow closed with a speech on homophobia.

After explaining there are two main bodies of discrimination based on sexual preference (orientation and identity), she highlighted her point that all people have rights and deserve equal rights.

Member Betsy Lehr joined because the issues were ones she feels strongly for.

“I felt like a good, moral decision for me,” she said. “It’s important to increase awareness because through it, you can erase ignorance.”

The cases vary and, according to Crow, are not black and white. She believes that everyone suffers with unique problems and even those who don’t feel they can make a difference should help.

“People forget that just because you’re not a part of the movement, you don’t experience the struggle of being denied rights doesn’t mean you can’t make it better,” Crow said. “When you are discriminated against, you have to have an advocate that’s part of the majority to help.”

And the first part of helping is signing up urges GSA members.

According to them, the gatherings are open to anyone who feels discriminated, who sees prejudice in the world, and who want to learn more about the challenges faced by the STA community.

Crow explained, “[GSA] is a safety net for those who are afraid to fall.”