By MARU GONZALEZ

AMHERST — Let’s take a trip back in time to middle school. What did you see, hear, and think about young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) — or being an LGBT ally?

What were you taught (or not taught) about LGBT people and communities?

If you were a target of bullying, witnessed others being bullied or even bullied others yourself, did staff intervene? More often than not, the answers to these questions are a resounding “NO!”

And with the slew of recent bullying-related suicides, this seems to be the trend across the nation.
Amherst Regional Middle School (ARMS) is taking steps to ensure a safe and affirming school climate.

From the affirming and supportive faculty to the social justice-minded curriculum, ARMS increasingly embodies what it means to be a “safe and respectful community.”
That community is reflected in the school’s recently established Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) whose primary objectives are to cultivate a community of respect and raise awareness about LGBT issues.

As one student put it, “It’s good to have a safe space where you can go and be yourself.”

In addition to the club, the school is taking broader steps to combat anti-LGBT bullying. LGBT safe zone stickers have been placed on classroom doors throughout the building and the English department has developed a lesson on challenging anti-LGBT language.

Ultimately, this work is just one small piece of a larger effort to celebrate all students — not in spite of their differences but because of them.

As adults, we often forget (or try to forget) the difficult transition into adolescence.
At times, we find ourselves dismissing schoolyard taunts as “part of youth culture.”

Other times, we simply feel powerless in our ability to intervene or make a difference.
But we can start to “make it better” for students, as the Amherst Regional Middle School already has.

Maru Gonzalez works with the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts.