Gay-Straight Alliance Starts off Semester Strong

(Photo by J. Hare)

(From left to right) After settling into their seats, Emily Goodwin, Emily Campbell, and Joanne Cassidy begin discussing experiences in being a part of and supporting the LGBT community.

By Johnathan Hare

On Sept. 15 the Gay-Straight Alliance at Delaware Technical Community College, Owens Campus, had its first meeting. After situating themselves, the group immediately got to work introducing themselves, electing its officers and president, and discussing ways to boost future attendance.

President Christian Brightwell, a Photo Imaging major, wants the group to be a place where students of all sexual orientation can gain support from each other.

Brightwell said that in high school he was harassed for who he was, and doesn’t want others to go through that same turmoil.

“I want people to feel like they can be comfortable here at Delaware Tech,” said Brightwell. “For everyone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and straight, we don’t want them to feel like they have to conform to society.”

Vice President Emily Campbell, a Criminal Justice major, joined the club not only to support people she knows, but to meet new friends and gain experience working with people.

“Everyone is unique and different in their own way,” said Campbell. “I mean gay people don’t ask, ‘Why are you straight?’” Her hope for the group is to make people aware that being different isn’t a bad thing, nor is it unusual.

Secretary Emily Goodwin, a nursing major, said she wants to show support for LGBT students and doesn’t want them to feel like they don’t belong. In high school she saw friends who came out as gay or bisexual, and ended up being rejected and scorned by their families.

“I just want to help people find peace,” she said. “A lot of the time people just need someone to talk to.”

Advisor Joanne Cassidy, Department Chair for Occupational Therapy, said the group has a lot to do this semester. Along with fundraising and recruiting more members, Cassidy hopes that they can make further advances in resources and support for the transgender students at Delaware Technical Community College.

In most instances, a club at Delaware Tech has to be started by students, but the Owens campus GSA is an exception, said advisor and Computer Information Systems instructor Edward Hall. For the group to be verified and funded by the college, Delaware Tech requires the members to officiate meetings as student officers, including a president, vice president, and secretary.

The president and vice president work together to come up with meeting ideas and coordinating the group, while the secretary takes notes of the group’s discussions to keep absent members up to date and record ideas, said Cassidy.

Along with Hall and Cassidy, Leslie Vincent, Developmental Studies instructor, is an advisor for the GSA.

Advisor duties include arranging meeting places and announcements, while the students manage the group itself. The advisors are excited to see what the new members will do once leadership of the group is passed onto them, said Vincent.

Vincent has been a member of Delaware Tech’s faculty since 1999, and has seen a lot of change since she first started teaching. In Delaware, there were no laws protecting LGBT rights, and this area has not always been very open-minded toward the community.

“This is Sussex County,” said Vincent. “There were many students who were not comfortable expressing themselves.”

Noticing this issue, she was one of the staff members who helped start the Gay-Straight Alliance to he take the pressure off of these students. However, Vincent does compliment Delaware Tech on its past and present LGBT procedures, which were often better than policies set by Delaware and various other states.

Vincent also has some concerns about how transgender students are perceived and treated. Not only are students across the country subject to bullying, violence, and even murder for being perceived as gay or gender-variant, but there are many homeless teenagers who have been evicted from their homes for coming out to their family.

Vincent has some words of encouragement for those struggling to adapt to situations they may find themselves in.

“There may be some transitional periods,” she said. “Many people find that the more ‘out’ you become, the more acceptance you’ll find.”