Dear Sir/Madam:
Imagine a mother coming up to you and saying that her child killed themselves because they felt they didn't fit in, and they will no longer be attending your school. You would have to tell her that there might have been a way you could have prevented their death. If our school had a Gay-Straight Alliance then there would be a place for people who are outcasts, to go and feel accepted and feel that they fit in. With just a little step of acceptance we could end up saving thousands of lives.
According to the Oregon Healthy Teens (OHT) survey, LGBT youth attempted suicide at much higher levels than heterosexual teens. With just a little support in their area, LGBT teen suicide attempts went from 25.47% to 20.37% just because people were more accepting of the LGBT community. You may not be able to prevent everyone from committing suicide, but if our school opens a Gay-Straight Alliance we could save lives of those who just need a little encouragement.
You say that your goal is for everyone to graduate and go to college, but if teens are so depressed that they want to die; then they can’t focus on the schoolwork that needs to be done in order to graduate. Not everyone is going to graduate high school, but the ones that want to need to have an opportunity to show that they are important to society and that they can graduate and go to college if they try and show that they can do it, even if it seems impossible at the time. Gay-Straight Alliances aren’t just for LGBT youth, they are for everyone who is struggling and needs to be shown that they are special and that they aren’t outcasts to all of society.
Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played Harry Potter in the Harry Potter movies, said “You don’t have to be gay to be a supporter; you only have to be human.” (Carroll, line 30) It is sad that sometimes celebrities like Daniel Radcliffe, are the only support that some teens have in their lives. We need to have a Gay-Straight Alliance so people can have friends who they get to see every day and can talk to about normal everyday problems.
“I identify with people who struggle, and I respect people that have to fight for their right to be respected. I felt bullied, judged and labeled and I think it’s asinine for one person to think they are better then another person.” (Wong, line 15) This is a quote by a music artist named Pink who has influenced many teens and has saved many lives with her words. To think that if she had decided not to be here today, it could have influenced many people’s lives without them even knowing. You don’t know how many people’s lives you are going to touch if you don’t try. The power of support is one of life’s greatest gifts and should be used to accept people when they are in their time of need and not to support those who are discouraging people. With support we can save the lives of thousands of people, some we don’t even know.
Yours truly,

Jessica