In Swampscott, students teach senior citizens in 'LGBTQ 101'
SWAMPSCOTT - It was an opportunity for discussion between different generations. Members of the Swampscott High School GSA, along with the organization NAGLY, held an event Tuesday afternoon at the Swampscott Senior Center called "LGBTQ 101," where all topics were on the table.
"A lot of this process is just showing them and having an open space to talk about this where they don't have to worry if they're saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing," said a member of the GSA Katie Debole.
"So much has changed from when some of these people were my age, so it's just important to kind of communicate those changes and what has happened," said GSA member Rosalind Masucci.
Lenora Frenkel used to be a teacher. Today, she's the one asking the questions in an effort to learn.
"I think about what kids are going through today and how confusing it must be because it's a very different world than when I was teaching 40 years ago, and I wanted to be educated," said Frenkel.
The event is part of a monthly series at the Senior Center called Talk about Town, which aims to educated residents about a variety of different topics.
"It's a wonderful way for us to start to break down some of those communication barriers and try to understand," said Senior Center Director of Aging Services Heidi Whear.
"People seemed very open and very willing to listen and have questions of sort of how to make other people feel accepted, which warmed my heart," said GSA President Teddie Silver.