Logan Henderson: Samo's newest lobbyist

Jones PitskerStaff WriterLogan Henderson stands at ease in the middle of the darkened classroom, leaning on a nearby desk. A power point projection flickers onto the screen behind him, which reads, “Is Being Trans a Mental Illness?” Henderson looks briefly at the slide behind him, then proceeds to start another meeting of Samo’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), where he discusses issues relevant to Samo's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) community.Henderson reads off the slide for a few sentences, then cuts himself off. “This is so boring,” he says. The students in the classroom laugh slightly, and Henderson begins to paraphrase the information in his own words, putting the information into language easily digested by the students.After the meeting is finished, students line up to receive hugs from Henderson, a touching spectacle because it shows how close the community of the GSA is and how much Henderson is valued as a friend and a co-president. To Henderson, being the co-president of the GSA is one of the best jobs the school has to offer.“Being president of the GSA is really great,” Henderson said. “I love that I can help LGBTQ students on campus. It’s all just really fun and really satisfying when I can get things accomplished.”GSA co-president Abby Mahler says that Henderson’s dedication to his cause has allowed the GSA at Samo to become a prominent on-campus organization.“Logan is absolutely fantastic,” Mahler said. “He sets an example for all of us and sets the bar so high that we can’t help but be impressed. GSA would be nowhere close to where it is now if not for his tireless work.”Henderson is a large part of Samo’s LGBTQ community, also as the co-lead facilitator of Project Safe Zone, an annual day long camp dedicated to promoting awareness of the issues of sexism and homophobia.“I first participated in eighth grade and I was really nervous, but I learned a lot and it completely changed my perspective on gender in modern society,” Henderson said. “Now that I am a facilitator, I am able to teach my peers what I have learned and give them about the experiences I have had.”Henderson, ever committed to the cause of helping LGBTQ students, signed up for a program over the summer with the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which connects schools with GSA groups. In this program, Henderson and other students around California went to Sacramento and lobbied to pass three laws that will make schools more LGBTQ-friendly.“I applied online to the organization and then they sent us up to the capital," Henderson said. “We did training for three days on how to talk to legislators and senators. At first I was nervous, but I’m really glad I was part of it and I’m really excited that those bills passed.”The three laws Henderson passed, the Fair Education Act, the Gender Non-Discrimination Act and Seth’s Law, are aimed at making California schools safer places for LGBTQ students, and will go into effect Jan. 1, 2012. The Fair Education Act requires social science and history classes to teach LGBTQ, disabled, Native American and other underrepresented curriculum. The second, the Gender Non-Discrimination Act, specifically sets legal definitions for gender so transgender students are protected at all times. The final law that Henderson passed was Seth’s law, which states that schools are required to intervene in cases of bullying and harassment more promptly than previously and must have complaint forms available.The process of passing these laws was far from easy; Henderson had to go through many steps in order to lobby for the bills to be put into action.“We went over to the capitol, and at the beginning of the day, there was a press conference where a few of us got up and told our stories to the public so that they were aware of exactly what we were doing,” Henderson said. “Each group went and spoke to a staff member, assembly member or senator and explained their stories and why it was important for the legislators to pass these bills. It was really important for us to put a face to the laws so that the senators would see the students the laws would affect and not just know about us in the abstract.”Speaking to legislators and convincing them to pass laws might seem intimidating to most teens but, according to Samo Spanish teacher Kelly Bates, Henderson is far from the average Samo student.“Logan is just one of the most amazing students I’ve had,” Bates said. “It amazes me when a person under 18 knows who they are. Logan knows himself better than most adults know themselves.”Bates is the teacher adviser of the GSA and was Henderson's Spanish teacher his freshman year.“He was a great leader from the beginning; he started here with a sense of community,” Bates said. “I’m in awe of what he’s done. Logan has shown me what real dedication looks like.”Members of the GSA are also glad to have a president as dedicated as Henderson.“He’s a good president because he cares about what he does,” sophomore GSA member Alana Feldman said. “He presents the information during meetings in an interesting way and is really dedicated to helping students.”Henderson knows that his job is far from done, even with the laws he passed.“What I’m working on [now] in GSA is getting Samo specifically to follow those laws. They’re really important, and I fought for them for a reason,” Henderson said.Henderson hopes that these three laws will help make Samo more LGBTQ-friendly, but knows that they have to be enforced in order to make an impact on campus.“Our school will be safer if they actually implement the laws and don’t just acknowledge that they are there. I think [teachers] need to be pushed to go through and follow the laws,” Henderson said.Henderson is now working with the GSA to uphold these laws and others in order to help end teasing and bullying of LGBTQ students on campus.“I think a step in the right direction would be for the school to send a representative to come into the GSA so the school has a better understanding of what these laws actually mean,” Henderson said. “We would give them as much help as they needed to implement these laws. I’m sure the school district is really busy and they need all the help they can get.”jpitsker@thesamohi.com