Outright Vermont is excited to announce its fourth annual Gay/Straight Alliance Conference, Queer Youth Pride March and SpeakOUT, and Queer Prom on May 8, 2010. The event, hosted by the Montpelier High School GSA, will bring youth together from across Vermont.

Students attending Outright’s GSA Conference, Queer Youth Pride, and Queer Prom experience a day long event that positions LGBTQ youth in a positive light, allows LGBTQ youth to serve as role models, identifies adult allies throughout the state, and helps educate all youth on how to advocate for themselves and for school change. This conference is often the first time LGBTQ youth meet other LGBTQ youth, and reduces social isolation by identifying supportive adults and other LGBTQ youth in different communities across the state. This is the fourth annual GSA conference, and there are nearly 100 students registered, representing 8 of the 14 counties in Vermont.

According to Executive Director, Melissa Murray, “with queer students eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, an event like this is more important than ever. There are queer students in every county in Vermont, and this is often the first time they get to see that they are not alone.” Saben Littlefield, Outright’s Education and Statewide Field Manager, adds “this is the largest GSA Conference in Vermont’s history. Like last year, youth will come together to discuss the issues that matter to them and to identify their priorities for Outright in the coming year.”

When asked what she was looking forward to at the conference, a registered conference participant responded, “I’m really excited about all of it, the conference and especially prom, but what I love the most is that I have a voice in directing what Outright will do in the future!” Youth will set Outright’s priorities for 2010-2011 at a special session at the conference.

For more information about the conference, or about Outright Vermont, please visit http://www.outrightvt.org or contact Melissa Murray (Melissa@outrightvt.org) or (802) 865-9677.

The Mission of Outright is to build safe, healthy, and supportive environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth (ages 13-22). Our goal is to make Vermont the safest, most supportive and empowering state for queer youth in America.