GSA ties together community

FMU’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) hosted a tie-dye event to promote the organization’s mission of diversity on March 4 on the Founder’s Hall lawn.

During the event, flags representing different groups of the LGBTQ community were hung up to give inspiration for color schemes and display the diversity that the GSA includes and supports. GSA officers also gave students information about their club and other events by the organization, such as the Mardi Gras drag show.

GSA Secretary Elizabeth Gable said they wanted to host an event that shared their mission while also appealing to prospective members.

“We thought tie-dyeing would be a fun way to include people who may not usually see our organization,” Gable said.

Devin Gregg, president of GSA, has been involved in the organization for three years. She said pride week in the spring is one of their biggest events, along with their monthly meetings. GSA also offers outreach and general information to students.

“We, as officers, chose to do a tie-dye event as an accessible way to introduce people to LGBTQ topics,” said Gregg. “We thought having something more hands-on would pull students in and allow them to engage in a different way. We hope this event was able to further create exposure for our organization and a conscious, respectful environment on campus.”

Gable has been involved with the GSA for two years and is serving as an officer for the first time.

“I was introduced to the organization by Devin Gregg,” said Gable. “This organization offers a sense of community, lets people know we are here, and attempts to get students involved and provide them with a comfortable space where they can be themselves.”

Gable also explained that GSA held free HIV testing for students.

“While the student health center offers HIV testing periodically, we hope students will take a small chunk of time out of their day to take advantage of this free, important testing,” Gable said.

Along with their tie-dyeing event, they also host other events to promote their mission and involve students, such as the G-Week event beginning on March 25, which engages students’ ideas about gender issues.