I remember in high school walking down the empty hallways after the final bell, watching as people made beelines for the bus lane or the parking lot, hearing the faint laughter of after school programs beginning to start. I saw a flyer proudly boasting the rainbow triangle and a cute, hand-drawn cat. “Come to GSA!” it read in large, black letters. I briefly wondered what that was before I shrugged it off and continued my walk, making it a mental note to find out more about this unknown organization. The next few days I listened intently when a trans boy in my english class spoke, trying to overhear what this “GSA” could possibly be. He was making more flyers to post around campus, painstakingly drawing on each print out. A friend asked what he was doing, to which he cheerfully replied, “It’s for the Gay-Straight Alliance!” I was taken aback. Growing up in a fairly conservative household, I had no idea that my school's population could have a large enough LGBT+ community to warrant an entire organization. I did not join that organization, thinking I would not belong as a cisgender, heterosexual female.
However, having recently come out as genderfluid and most definitely not as heterosexual as I once thought, having recently joined TLU’s GSA and learning the ropes to become the new Vice President, I understand now why these high schoolers trapped in an ultra-conservative setting clung to each other so vehemently.
So why is it important that there even be a GSA in the first place?
Well, it is partly a way of creating a safe space, a time and place every week where LGBT+ students can be truly who they are without judgement. Remember the transgender boy I mentioned from my high school? Every day he would be misgendered by peers and teachers. GSA was one of the only places they respected his wishes. A GSA organization becomes to retreat from the closed-mindedness of day-to-day life.
It is also about building a community. Being LGBT+ is not a new thing and is certainly not an uncommon thing. I wholeheartedly believe everyone is at least 10% gay. Having a time and place every week for the same group of people meet and talk about things that have happened in their lives and current events that are happening around the world is a great way for someone who might not have a lot of friends to meet people who have similar ideals and values.
There is also an underlying responsibility of the GSA to educate the majority through events and programs; there is a duty to reach out of their bubble and try to make people understand what the LGBT+ community is all about and why it is important. I personally have not seen or been the victim of bigotry and closed-mindedness on campus, quite the opposite with how my fraternity brothers accepted me without much hesitation, but I do not doubt it is there, maybe not in the open, but in people’s hearts and minds.
However, there is a problem I must address. The TLU GSA is dying. Every week it seems we have less and less people attend and even less to discuss. Our meetings have gone from the “done-too-quickly” 30 minutes when I first joined, to the 15 minutes that drag on and on, thanks to the lack of fresh voices and exciting news. I’ve seen the advertisements around school, futile attempts to encourage membership, but nothing seems to be working. There is hope that our small organization will blossom, after the unpredictable popularity of our “#saveGSA” event hosted recently, and become more than 3 people laughing about Donald Trump Wednesday evenings.
If you are interested in joining GSA, whether you are LGBT+ or an ally, we would love to have you coming to our meetings, currently on Wednesdays at 6:30 in the C Conference room in the ASC. And please check us out on Facebook at the “TLU Gay Straight Alliance” group page.
