Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever (GLOW) Club has been a growing organization at City High for years. Madison Irish-Gorvin ‘20 is attending GLOW club for a second year and is excited about the fresh faces that have joined.

“We have quite a few more freshmen this year and I think that us upperclassmen are excited about that,” Irish-Gorvin said.

Phil Tyne ‘20, the president of GLOW, is ecstatic about the promising new members and upcoming events.

“Being the president, it’s really fun to see the freshman come in and to see how the community really grows every single year. It’s a safe place,” he said. “We get stuff done, and we can chill too.”

Tyne joined GLOW Club as a freshman and has been actively involved ever since. He informally became president as a junior and transformed the club into a more active and involved organization at City High.

“My freshman year GLOW was not really doing much of anything. [During] my sophomore year I became much more involved and inadvertently became the president because I took lead,” said Tyne. “This year [GLOW club] is really full and it’s a place of activism.”

GLOW Club meets on Monday’s from 4:00 to 5:15 with sponsors Tony Balcaen, Jen BarbouRoske, and Jill Humston. This year, GLOW Club is planning to make t-shirts, buttons, and stickers. They’re also planning to put on a school dance in the future.

“We’re hoping to make the Love is Love dance we did last year an annual thing,” said Irish-Gorin. “In May we’re planning an event called Rainbow Days for the entirety of the month, with trivia like they do with Black History Month. We’re hoping to bring in guest speakers to talk about their experiences in the LGBTQ+ community.”

In addition to their regularly scheduled activities, members of GLOW Club are planning a meeting with City High staff about making the classroom setting more queer friendly. Tyne is very passionate about making City High a better and safer place for everyone.  

“For me, [Glow Club is] about showing people that you can be out and proud. In GLOW, we’re trying to educate the student body to be more accepting,” said Tyne.