Top image: Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr talks to attendees at the Governor's Conference on LGBTQ Youth hosted by Iowa Safe Schools Bottom image: attendees and visitors in the hall at the Governor's Conference on LGBTQ Youth hosted by Iowa Safe Schools credit: Avery Staker

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Being an LGBTQ+ student in Iowa right now is hard.

Laws police which names and bathrooms students can use, and what words teachers can say in their classrooms.

And yet, many told Starting Line their school experiences got better when they found a community of other LGBTQ+ students and places they could be themselves.

A place for us

On Friday, April 5, in Altoona, community was on display at the 19th Annual Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth, the largest LGBTQ+ youth conference in the country. It was named for former Gov. Tom Vilsack, who supported LGBTQ+ rights. This year, 54 schools and more than 800 students attended.

It was hosted by Iowa Safe Schools, an organization that advocates for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ youth in Iowa.

“[The conference] teaches kids who feel like this and know who they are, but never really got the support to be who they are,” said Keatyn, a student from Oelwein. “It helps them grow up and know that this is okay and gives them the bravery to actually speak out about who they are, and then help educate other students.”

It was Keatyn’s second time at the conference, and she said her school group gets bigger every year. The school has a group to support LGBTQ+ students, but when SF 496, the anti-LGBTQ+ law that passed last year, went into effect this year, the group had to change from being advisor-led to being student-led.

Still, Keatyn said, the school is supportive—and bullying used to be worse.