By Sean Colvin Staff writer
The Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club “wears a lot of hats,” according to its president, senior Hailey Leseur, who has been a member of the club since her sophomore year.
Leseur also said that GSA serves as a safe space and meeting place for queer students on campus, a place where they can feel accepted, share their experiences and explore their identities.
The club has done so since 1978, when it was formed on Susquehanna’s campus.
GSA is actively involved in planning events on and off-campus, like the recent performance and lecture by guest speaker Peterson Toscano, a queer performance activist.
GSA also organizes trips to events at other institutions, like the Mid-Atlantic LGBTQA Conference at Bloomsburg in November, when SGA transported about 25 Susquehanna students to the conference.
During the conference, sophomore Angelina Poole conducted a presentation about the bridging tensions between the pansexual and bisexual communities and said that the response was encouraging.
“Being able to take a group of people down there who are interested in learning about activism work and different facets of the LGBTQ community, that’s something that I’m very proud of,” Poole said.
According to Leseur, GSA is currently working on bringing the Northeast LGBT Conference to Susquehanna in the coming spring.
The NELGBTC, according to its website, is a conference first held in 1995 that aims to train people like Hailey to be strong leaders in their communities and to ensure equality and opportunity in higher education for LGBTQ+ people.
According to Leseur, upward of 500 people would attend the conference to hear from activists and speakers, attend workshops for activism and self-care, hear scholarly lectures and learn about the history of the LGBTQ+ movement.
“Given the recent light of the election, we want to build solidarity among these minority communities at Susquehanna,” Leseur said.
Susquehanna graduate and adjunct faculty Christiana Paradis is a friend and supporter of GSA.
Paradis said, “GSA is a safe place for students of varying gender and diversity expressions. Furthermore, it is a great place for allies to support members of the queer community at [Susquehanna].”
“I think it provides students with a community of inclusion and safety,” she continued.
“When I was a student, GSA was one of few places that I felt I could truly be myself,” Paradis added.
For any student interested in GSA, the meetings are every Thursday evening from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
