English teacher Dennis Howie had a noble idea in 2010.
After years of teaching, the Neshaminy instructor wanted to create a forum and give voice to gay and lesbian people. For Howie, this was more than just an idea. He went to work, forming the school's gay-straight alliance club, or Spectrum.
Recently, Sean Daly, another English teacher, took over the program, directing it with the same passion and purpose as his predecessor. Under Daly's direction, the program has taken root in the community as well.
"The students run the group and they do it very well," said Daly. "It's just required that there be an adviser; they run everything."
After years of social exclusion and other concerns, many students felt that they needed to address the issue with their fellow students and the community at large.
"There's a need for it in the community, it needs to be faced and dealt with, not ignored like it was for so many years," Daly said.
The United States is undergoing a major social shift. A 2013 Gallup Poll showed that more than 50 percent of Americans think marriage between same-sex consenting adults should be recognized as legally valid.
Neshaminy's Spectrum club, now with 50 members, reflects these changing attitudes. The club is a small example of the social progressiveness of the millennial generation.
Polls show that support for same-sex marriage and the LGBT community at large have increased consistently over the years.
"Our generation is the most open-minded generation so far; socially, we have been more accepting," 18-year-old senior and Spectrum supporter Corey LaQuay said.
Millennials are by far the most socially liberal generation in the country's history. All across the United States, gay-straight alliances have been set up in high schools in support of their fellow students.
"Right now the LGBT community is still fighting, and it is our generation that is supporting them the most," Neshaminy senior Emily Scott said.
Studies have shown that millennials hold a more progressive view on contentious topics such as religion, equal opportunity, the role of government, and race, to name a few. In a poll conducted by the Center for American Progress, 64 percent of millennials believe that "religious faith should focus more on promoting tolerance, social justice, and peace in society, and less on opposing abortion or gay rights."
Though Pennsylvania does not recognize same-sex marriage, much of the rest of the nation appears to have caught up with Howie, who was ahead of his time in creating a safe haven for LGBT students, giving them voice and educating others along the way.