Club Corner: Pride Club a place to connect
Distance learning can be lonely but Pride Club offers that human connection that students are craving right now.
Talia Guppy and Frances Marion are Mental Health Practitioners with the Los Angeles Unified School District Human Relations, Diversity and Equity department. They gave a presentation during the Pride Club meeting on Oct. 1.
October 1, 2020
Despite being in the midst of a global pandemic, the Pride Club continues to provide all students with a safe and judgment-free zone to express themselves.
The Pride Club has a Zoom meeting every Monday at 2:30 p.m. hosted by the school’s psychiatric social worker, Joanne Tuell. Meetings were originally on Thursdays but will now be held on Mondays starting Oct. 5. They start off with fun icebreaker questions to get everyone acquainted and feeling comfortable with each other in the Zoom. Then, they share personal experiences and sometimes talk about goals for the club and how to promote it.
On Oct. 1, Mental Health Practitioners Talia Guppy and Frances Marion with the Los Angeles Unified School District Human Relations, Diversity and Equity department gave a presentation to members of the club. In their presentation, they talked about the best circumstances of when to come out and when not to. They offered helpful advice and created a safe environment for students to talk about their own experiences.
The pandemic has necessitated Daniel Pearl Magnet High School to take part in online learning, which leaves many DPMHS students lacking the same human connection they had before school became virtual. Now, students can go to the Pride Club, socialize with their friends and experience some of that human connection they are missing.
“I go to the Pride Club to see my friends because right now, it’s very hard to see people out of class,” sophomore Frankie Witt said. “Pride Club is something I always look forward to on a Thursday.”
Pride Club formed several years ago to be a place of comfort for DPMHS students struggling to come out. Over time, Pride Club has sustained its reputation as a safe place for teens to express their feelings. Additionally, it has evolved into a club for passionate students at DPMHS to participate in LGBTQ+ conferences and to educate others about what it means to be LGBTQ and how to be an ally.
“We need a Pride Club so that more people can educate others about LGBTQ and that they won’t think it’s a “phase” or they’re doing it for attention,” junior Breanna Peralta said.
