Written by the GSA President
Upon arriving at Richmond campus as a queer student from South Florida—a state notorious for its discriminatory policies—my primary goal was to seek out a community that valued and supported me. To me, that was a GSA, or a Genders and Sexualities Alliance.
When I discovered that Richmond did not yet have a running GSA, I for a moment considered forgetting about it moving on. I was a new student, and knew I needed to prioritize adjusting. But something about that felt ironic to me. The best way to adjust to a new place is to find a group of people you can relate to. Walking away had felt like a disservice to someone. Perhaps myself? I wasn’t sure, but I knew I wanted to do something. So I took the initiative, or what we call, “my gay audacity,” and established a GSA myself.
As the President of my GSA in High School, I felt comfortable in this familiar territory. Queer has a way of finding queer, and a club is nothing more than a massive group of friends playing an extravagant version of “House,” but with a very important goal: to create space. That’s exactly what we did.
After contacting the Student Affairs office, putting up informational posters, and launching a social media presence, the club started gaining traction. Now as a growing society on campus, we have already hosted our first campus-wide GSA event, proudly celebrating National Coming Out Day. The holiday represents the significant decision all LGBTQ+ individuals make or have made to come out, to themselves or to others, as queer. GSA’s lighthearted celebration served as an appropriate nod towards the good, the bad, and the ugly—giving light to the bravery and hardship that comes with the simple act of being oneself. I wanted to celebrate this holiday in particular because it represented the start of most queer journeys, especially for young adults. It felt fitting that a new club, now on its own journey, would honor that.
With a watch-party of the queer film phenomenon, Bottoms, and a, “Candy Trauma Salad,” to share personal stories, our event acted as a joyous, celebratory slumber party. Members were additionally given the chance to share their own coming out stories anonymously on our Padlet. One member shared their, “Coming Out Cake,” which featured a rainbow display made of different fruits.
GSA hopes to emphasize that while we all face our own unique challenges, we are united in what we love — one another. With our motto, Education • Advocacy • Community, GSA will make an impact both on and off campus with a particular focus on community engagement and active advocacy. We hope our founding will encourage other minority groups on campus to come together as well, and to offer current GSA members the chance to develop their identities and connect with peers who share similar experiences. Whether we celebrate and better understand our intersectionality by inviting guest speakers on the topics of transitioning and SexEd, attend local pride events, host fundraisers, or simply bond at a gay pub/club for some Drag Bingo — GSA will give reason to days like October 11th.
When I started forming the society I wanted to prove to my peers that there was room for us on campus. Now, I want to prove that we can make room wherever we go, off campus and there on, too. That’s the true point of a GSA. To come, to learn, and to grow.
I’d like to additionally acknowledge our Student Accomodation and Community Support Officer, Brittany Yaxley. She was both a mentor and an ally throughout this process, and with her guidance we had a much easier time finding our footing.
