Former Student Starts Petition for Recently Voted-Down Chambersburg Gay-Straight Alliance

The board of the Chambersburg Area High School voted against it, but Thomas McCalmont is fighting back.

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A few weeks ago, I told you about the Chambersburg, Pa. school board’s decision to deny its students the right to form a gay-straight alliance (GSA). Now a recent gay graduate of the school is fighting back.

Thomas McCalmont, who graduated from Chambersburg Area High School in 2010, has started a petition on change.org that has generated 5,000 signatures from folks across Pennsylvania — many of which are Chambersburg residents and students. His passion for the GSA stems from his personal experience at the school, where he says he was bullied on a daily basis because of his sexual orientation. “One year I was unable to dress in the boys locker room because it was a ‘solution’ for the intense bullying I endured one day after gym class,” he says. “The bullying escalated to the point of contributing to suicidal ideation my senior year. This club is crucial for the students.”

I don’t know about you, but this sounds eerily familiar. I’d love to see him succeed. If you have a second, please stop over on change.org to sign the petition.

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