The Marquette Gender Sexuality Alliance relaunched for the 2019-’20 school year. It originally started in the late 1990s. However, since the LGBTQ+ Resource Center in the Alumni Memorial Union opened, GSA faded away.
Danielle Del Conte, a junior in the College of Engineering and president of the GSA, said there are hopes to make the club a social space with which to interact and hang out with. The year will kick off with a bowling party at the Union Sports Annex today.
“I look forward to creating a space on campus where everyone feels welcome because, especially for the LGBTQ+ community on campus, there are a lot of spaces where queer students don’t know if they’re actually safe there,” Del Conte said.
Del Conte said she got involved with GSA by visiting the LGBTQ+ Resource Center in the AMU and talking to the previous officers about rebooting GSA on campus.
Since she was the youngest out of all of the previous members, she said that she could take on the responsibility of being president.
Though the LGBTQ+ Resource Center in the AMU is different from GSA, Del Conte said that there are already around 30 students who frequently visit the LGBTQ+ Resource Center who are interested in joining.
One of GSA’s major goals is to branch out from the center by having their own events and programming, Del Conte said. It also wants to create social events, like beach days and bowling parties, to get its name out and meet new people who do not use the center as often, Del Conte said.
“I’m looking forward to all of the new events that they’re putting forward this semester,” said Nick Ansay, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and member and former president of Gender Sexuality Alliance.
Ansay has been the GSA president since fall 2017. However, because he is graduating early, he decided to hand the role over.
He said he is currently part of the club to help out and give advice on events.
Ansay also said he pays for most of the club’s events out of his own pocket, since the club is not sponsored by Marquette, but GSA can be reimbursed right after the event through MUSG, Del Conte said in an email.
Besides events, the club meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month at David Straz Hall to have open discussions on different topics.
Since October is LGBT History Month, they will be talking about LGBTQ+ history and icons who paved the way for their rights.
The group is also trying to collaborate with Campus Ministry to talk about the intersection of religion and queer identity, Zelda Kieser, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and member of GSA, said.
“I’m looking forward to having a specifically social group for LGBTQ individuals on campus,” Kieser said.
Students looking to join can come to any event, visit the GSA website or come to a meeting. The LGBTQ+ Resource Center is also a space where students can access different resources and form a community.
