Belleville West High School Spectrum Case Study

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Belleville West High School presides in the middle of an abandoned field and a family oriented community. Here you’ll find different clubs and activities that can fit just about every student’s liking. However, Spectrum, the LGBT club, has the lowest rate of members of all school clubs.
Spectrum is a support group for those who are apart or supporters of the LGBT community. Those who attend share stories about their struggles living in the community. Many believe that Spectrum isn’t highly well known due to the fact of what they cover in meanings, but this isn’t in the case at all. “I’d say it’s because it’s still a relatively new club,” Says Mrs. Casper-Bassler, a well loved art teacher at West, “It takes about five years for a club to actually …show more content…

But those who do attend see Spectrum as an escape route. “Spectrum is important because maybe those in the community are not accepted at home, so at least they have a place to feel good at.” Alyssa Marchand, a recently out member of the community states.
Many members who attend Spectrum are not only a part of the LGBT community, but also due with many mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. Although these are touchy topics, some of the meetings have discussions about their struggles. Many of the members believe that Spectrum should broaden their curriculum and touch more on ways to deal with things like depression or abuse. “I feel like we’re passed the day in age where certain things weren’t accepted..” Braeson Davis states, “I don’t think we need to belittle things anymore. It’s too big of an issue to ignore.”
Even though we live in a place in time where LGBT people can freely love who they want without facing consequences, there are still incidents of people being targeted just because of their sexuality or for being a support for those who are attracted to the same sex. Even at West many of the members of Spectrum have been demonized by bigots. As this still remains to be a huge issue, those in the club come together to find many ways to stand up against their bullies in a peaceful

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