August 18, 2025

At some schools, students and groups have stepped in to fill the void

Canceled pride graduation celebrations. Eliminated resource centers for LGBTQ students. Tighter rules for using a preferred name on class rosters and student IDs. These are some of the casualties on Georgia college campuses as a national push to erase DEI initiatives and programs takes hold.

University System of Georgia schools across the state have adopted a variety of changes in response to a flurry of federal orders from the Trump administration. Republican state lawmakers have also pursued a ban on DEI programs and policies in Georgia’s public schools and universities. Read more...

June 30, 2025

On Peachtree Street, a grey 40-story skyscraper called the Promenade Tower overlooks several other buildings on the block.

Inside, white navigation signs with red arrows lead to a fancy touchscreen elevator where a legal name change clinic is welcoming a few clients. 

The event’s host is the Southern Legal Center for Youth, or SLCY. The College Park, Georgia, nonprofit is hoping to make the lives of queer and trans young adults a little easier as the state and federal governments adopt anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ policies. 

“It’s just something small that we could do that has a big impact in our young people’s lives,” said Liz Harding Chao, the founder of SLCY, who identifies as queer and genderfluid. Read more...

October 9, 2024

Liz Harding (J.D. ‘26) student at Georgia State University, is excelling in her fight to end youth homelessness in Atlanta and beyond. As the founder of the Southern Legal Center for Youth (SLCY), the first legal aid organization in Georgia to provide free civil legal services specifically to young people aged 12-24 who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness.

Harding combines her passion for public interest law with her background in data and evaluation to address critical legal needs for young people experiencing homelessness.

Southern Legal Center for Youth is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the health, safety, stability, and education of young people in the Southern United States by advancing their legal rights. Read more...