“Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime,” singer and gay rights activist Lady Gaga said on Twitter on Sunday. Gaga’s response comes in light of the suicide of the 14-year-old  teen Jamey Rodemeyer from Buffalo, N.Y. after years of torment and bullying because of his sexuality.

Like Gaga, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand reacted to the devastating news of Rodemeyer’s tragic death by reaching out to her Twitter followers. “We must do more for our #LGBT youth. We must pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act & help prevent more of our children [from] taking their lives,” Gillibrand said.

Yet, the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act to incorporate bullying and harassment prevention programs, remains un-passed and young members of the LGBT community continue to struggle with the horrors of bullying. 

These students, however, should know that they are not alone in the fight. In fact the Iona College Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) has made it the club’s mission to spread awareness not only to the LGBT, but the entire Iona community of the hate inflicted upon LGBT youth.

“We try to keep up with current events, especially regarding members of the LGBT community, in order to build awareness on the Iona campus,” said GSA President Michaelia Kelley.

Kelley cites the Rodemeyer case as a prime example for why more schools need to incorporate clubs or societies such as GSA in order to cease hate and promote acceptance amongst young people.

“Schools need to get tougher when it comes to bullying. Suicide awareness programs need to be implemented into America’s high schools because it is during that time that young people face great vulnerability,” she said.

This year, GSA plans to continue their vocation of advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community through a multitude of events geared towards spreading knowledge to the Iona community.

On Oct. 5, during Make a Difference Week, Iona will hold its second annual “Wear Purple” day for suicide prevention. Schools across the United States participated in a wear purple event in 2010 to commemorate the deaths of five teenage boys who took their own lives as a result of bullying because of their sexuality.

“Last year’s ‘Wear Purple’ day was a huge success,” Kelley said. “We encourage all Iona students to wear purple on Oct.5. GSA will set up tables throughout campus where club members will be handing out purple flowers, purple ribbons, purple buttons and general information about the significance of “Wear Purple” day in correlation with suicide prevention and