GSA Activist Camps

Every summer GSA Network offers GSA Activist Camp!  GSA Activist Camps are youth-planned, youth-led summer training academies.

GSA Activist Camps serve middle and high school students in Northern California, Southern California, and the Central Valley.

GSA Activist Camps are 3 days long and feature intensive community building, skill-building, political education and leadership training for current and potential GSA members.

Participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and learn how to:

  • Strengthen their GSA clubs through coalition building and strategic organizing.
  • Understand the legal rights of students and GSA clubs.
  • Protect students from slurs, bullying and discrimination.
  • Recognize the ways that homophobia and transphobia are connected to racism, sexism, classism and other oppressions.
  • Work with school administrators to fight homophobia and transphobia.
  • Run successful campaigns to change the climate on their campuses.
     

About Activist Camp

To attend Activist Camp, students must apply and be accepted. 

GSA Network will review applications, and will notify applicants about whether or not they're accepted over the course of the few weeks. All decisions will be made by June 25th.

Who should apply?

  • Youth (age 18 and under) who are interested in making their schools safer for LGBT students should apply.
  • You must attend a California middle school or high school.
  • You must attend camp in the region you live and you must be available to attend all camp dates.
  • We are especially looking for students who are high school juniors or younger, since Activist Camp youth often work on a campaign that continues into the next school year.
  • Middle school students can also apply.
  • Youth who have graduated high school or who have attended camp before are not eligible to attend camp as a participant
  • Youth of color, low-income youth, youth with disabilities, and transgender and gender non-conforming youth are strongly encouraged to apply.

Fee:  $0-$100, pay what you can/sliding scale

GSA Network strives to make all programs available and accessible to all youth.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Upon acceptance, you will be able to submit a check in the amount you can pay.  If you are unable to pay, no questions will be asked.

 

GSA Activist Camps 2013

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS FRIDAY, MAY 31st 

  • NorCal Activist Camp - July 12-14 at Marin Headlands Institute.  APPLY NOW!
  • SoCal Activist Camp -  July 26-28 at USC.  APPLY NOW!
  • Central Valley Activist Camp -  July 25-28 at USC.  APPLY NOW!

 

  • Mentors Wanted!   If you are interested being a young adult/college mentor at a camp in your region, apply today.  Mentors are adults who have been out of highschool for 2+ years.

 

 

Past GSA Activist Camps

GSA participants from all over California attended 2011 Activist Camps in Los Angeles and San Francisco and had a BLAST learning about activism and organizing their GSAs! To learn more about each camp, you can read our GSA Network blogs:

4 Year Start Lessons from 2012 Activist Camp

Read about our 2011 SoCal/Central Valley Activist Camp!

Read about our 2011 NorCal/Central Valley Activist Camp!

Listen to a NPR news segment about NorCal Activist Camp here!

 

Photos from SoCal/Central Valley Camp 2012 at USC:

     

   

     

   

More Photos on Facebook

 

Photos from NorCal/Central Valley Camp 2011:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What GSA Activist Camp participants are saying...

"Because of what I learned at Activist Camp, I am going to work to ensure that harassment laws are enforced at my school by pointing out when they aren't. I am also going to teach my GSA about the gender spectrum." -- 2011 NorCal/Central Valley Participant

"It was incredibly interesting ot learn that ALL activism is connected because oppressions are all connected. In order to find and make change we need to support each other. These concepts have made me a determined activist who is ready to change the world!" -- 2011 NorCal/Central Valley Participant

"The discussions I had at Activist Camp were very enlightening for me. Through discussions and activities, I was able to see my privilege and grow as an activist. In the future, I will work to defeat all oppression."
-- 2011 NorCal/Central Valley Participant

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