Blake and Seb on the road A tour of 18 schools across New Zealand by two gay men who are passionate about the plight of glbt youth has resulted in six schools taking steps to form queer-straight alliances. Q-Youth's Seb Stewart took to the road with out Winter Olympian Blake Skjellerup, on the back of success speaking to school assemblies in the Nelson region. They were buoyed by a meeting with the Prime Minister, which came about as the result of a letter writing campaign where queer young people told John Key about the plight they face in schools. "What happened was an amazing journey of epic proportions," Stewart has written in a blog wrapping up the trip for the Vodafone Foundation. At each of the 18 schools Skjellerup shared his personal story of coming out in the spotlight of professional sport with the students who gathered, then Stewart spoke to senior students about how queer-straight alliances (QSAs) are effective in supporting their glbt peers. "I was blown away by the enthusiasm of students to start QSAs in their schools. In total six schools have now taken steps to begin QSA groups. That's a third of the schools visited, a great result!" Stewart says he is still processing his own experiences and observations. "One thing that really stood out for me is that this was a ‘diversity' tour in so many ways on so many levels. From a decile 1 school in the far north, with a 95 per cent Maori roll, to a decile 10 school in Otago and everywhere in between. Yet, with all this diversity, always the students and staff were welcoming and warm." When Stewart decided to carry out a national tour he had just four weeks to plan it and no budget. The Vodafone Foundation, the Q-Youth Board, the Human Rights Commission, the Mental Health Foundation, PPTA and SS4Q came to the table as sponsors. "Next was somehow getting schools to book in talks. At very short notice. Excellent testimonials from principals in the Nelson region helped. So did a personal endorsement from the Prime Minister," Stewart writes. He adds that Children's Commissioner Dr John Angus wrote an enthusiastic letter of support, Human Rights Commission Advisors around the country wrote emails to schools, MYD staff sent emails, PPTA Executives made phone calls and students all over the country talked to their principals and teachers. "Without the stellar support of so many of these believers in the cause, the bookings would never have happened." The schools Stewart and Skjellerup visited: Week 1: Northland to Auckland. Kaitaia College, Northland College, Mangakahia Area School, Kamo High School and Mt Roskill Grammar Week 2: Waikato to Wellington. Fairfield College, Tokoroa College, Ruapehu College, Makoura College and Newlands College Week 3: South Island. Wakatipu High School, Mt Aspiring High School, Southland Boys High School, Southland Girls High School, St Peters High School, Waitaki Boys High School, Hillmorton High School and Hornby High School
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 30th June 2011 - 3:12pm