You may have noticed a colorful spread of sticky notes posted along the window of the Mustang Cafe. Look closer, and you’ll see messages like “you are loved” and “life is worth living” under a larger heading that says “You Belong At GM.”   

The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club at GMHS used the post-it notes to spread awareness and send a welcoming message for the LGBTQ community by writing messages of encouragement for everyone in the school to see. The notes were posted on Tuesday, November 15 and have remained there since.

“We realize that there were students who were affected by the discourse happening nationally and who are going to see counselors and are having some problems with anxiety,” said French teacher Kent Foster, who led the post-it note board project. “And since there wasn’t anything forthcoming, since there wasn’t any explicit support of students during this time, we decided to take the first step and put up post-it notes on the cafeteria window.”

“It is important for those in the LGBTQ community to feel welcome here at GMHS so they don’t have to feel unaccepted or at a risk of danger. People should be aware of this and be able to express their support,” said freshman Lily Hinden.

As a school-wide initiative, students can add their own words of support on a post-it note and stick it up to contribute and express support for the LGBTQ community in the school, and there’s no time limit to complete the action.

“The GSA post-its are a great way of letting the [LGBTQ community in George Mason] know they are accepted in GM, and they they shouldn’t be afraid to be themselves,” said freshman Zach Jepson.