M.M. Volume 02, Issue 09

JUNE 2026

Beloved GSA Network!

As the school year comes to a close and students break for the summer season, let’s be real: studenthood is not an experience to be limited by the walls of academic institutions. Rather, your power as a student is what sets you free - all year long. School’s out for now, but as lifelong learners, we’re free forever. 

We know that for many young people, summer is a long-awaited break from a school system that leaves us feeling more empty than inspired. Learning is not a burden, but our birthright; what leaves so many learners behind is the very intentional under-resourcing of public education in the United States. Learning should not be a heavy lift weighed down by establishments that are entrenched in colonialism and white supremacy; instead, learning should be as automatic as breathing, oxygenating your brain and breathing into new life. This summer, we encourage you to reclaim your brain by staying curious, learning to live, and enjoying the transitions - from spring to summer and graduation to beyond.

As the brilliant Octavia Butler stated in Parable of the Sower, “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.”

We embrace these changes with you and take comfort in the knowledge that change is part of the natural order of life, whether or not powerful adults admit this to you and themselves. Every year since 1969, from the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in 1970 to this year’s many Pride celebrations nationwide, this season is an uprising of the spirit.  Don’t get us wrong, pride is a party. But Pride is also a protest, a portal. The interconnectedness of all (queer) people spans generations, identities, and borders. This pattern proves that change is our destiny. It is the nature of being alive, pulling from the past to inform and create change for our futures. 

As we break away from colonial systems of education this summer, let us lean into each other’s wisdom instead. We are all students, no matter the season, and we are teachers, no matter our title. When young people commit to learning and putting what they learn into practice, things heat up and get exciting! We saw this in real time at our GSA Network Activist Camp, a youth-led leadership training camp for TQ2S+ Black, brown, and Indigenous youth of color across the country! In this space, youth were both active students and teachers, engaging each other across activities and discussions about gender justice, racial justice, popular education, and grassroots organizing skills!

Whether you find yourself at camp, on vacation, at home, or in community, embrace the mindset of both student and teacher. Bask in the change! Bask in your power! A liberated world is ours to build!

We love you,

Maya LaFlamme & J. Gia Loving

GSA Network Co-Executive Directors