The Coalition for Education on Sexual Orientation (CESO) and Creating Safe Schools for Illinois (CSSI, formerly GLSEN Chicago) have announced that they have joined forces to create the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.
According to a press release, they formed the alliance because LGB students are more likely to experience depression and violence—and, in turn, commit such acts as skipping school—than their heterosexual counterparts. ‘CESO and CSSI/GLSEN Chicago have come together to form the Alliance in order to create one LGBTQ safe schools organization in Illinois,’ said Dr. Stacey Horn, board chair of the alliance. ‘Our work is critical to ensuring the healthy development of LGBTQ youth.’ Mary Morten, CESO co-founder, agreed. ‘This is an opportunity to become more efficient and more effective,’ she said.
The new alliance will sponsor the state’s Day of Silence/Night of Noise activities, which involves a student-led effort to protest LGBT-based discrimination and harassment of students. Locally, the Night of Noise will take place April 18 at The Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph, at 5 p.m.
For more information, see www.illinoissafeschools.org.