All Sexualities Find Support in GSLBA

By: Kate Howard
Posted In: News

Salve students are gay. Straight. Lesbian. Bisexual. Homosexual. Heterosexual. Transgender. These terms are examples of the sometimes invisible diversity that Salve’s Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Bisexual Alliance (GSLBA) is trying to make the student body see.

The GSLBA began as part of a senior thesis by four social work majors. They were required to do something that would make an impact on the Salve community.

“They chose to do the GSLBA, because there was nothing like that here, and it was a great idea,” said Rob Kiley, one of the original members when the club was formed in January 2003.

Kiley, a sophomore, is one of three members of the Executive Board that heads the organization. Unlike many clubs on campus, there is no president or ranking among those in charge, and the power is equally distributed.

“We are all sophomores, and we were handed this very new club to run with the advice, ‘Don’t let it fall,'” Kiley said. “The sky is pretty much the limit, we can take this club in any direction we choose. We try to get our name out there and have fun while doing it.”

The first project the GSLBA tackled was that of creating a network of Safe Zones among Salve’s staff offices, resident assistants and faculty. A Safe Zone is an area where people of any sexuality can be comfortable and know they are in a safe environment. The triangle and rainbow logo marking a Safe Zone is visible in over 50 locations across campus.

The club holds meetings every Wednesday night in Wakehurst, and on a given week, the regular 15 or so members could be just hanging out and eating pizza or planning a project designed to promote awareness. The purpose of the GSLBA is that of promoting awareness, acceptance, diversity, understanding, and unity among the Salve Regina community.

“We want to make people aware that we are here, and we’re not leaving,” said Kiley.

Although there has never been a club at Salve like the GSLBA, Kiley said the seniors forming the club faced virtually no opposition from the administration about starting this organization at a Catholic university. “They were very enthusiastic about getting this club started,” Kiley said.

Another student, also one of the original members, preferred to have his name left anonymous. “My personal belief is that this club was well received by the school only because of Salve’s recent attempt at increasing diversity,” he said.

This student has faced a number of obstacles since he came out almost three years ago, and the GSLBA was the first sign towards acceptance he has seen at Salve.

“I joined the club because I felt an obligation,” he said. “It often seemed like I was the only gay student on campus who accepted it. I’ve experienced everything being gay at Salve from physical violence to emotional turmoil, all from fellow students. It isn’t easy, and I wanted to know that I wasn’t the only one and let others know they aren’t the only ones either.”

He feels that being in the GSLBA has shown him that there are others who can relate, and it has definitively impacted his college life. “[Being gay] isn’t something that should be the basis of my character or my judgment as a person,” he said.

Being involved in GSLBA and maintaining openness on campus about his sexuality has also taken the pressure off trying to play someone he isn’t. “It’s easier to have a fun college life by being myself, who I am,” he said.

The club has also changed Kiley’s perception at Salve, because there were no such organizations when he arrived as a freshman, and if there was a diverse population, nobody knew it.

“The presence of our club brings Salve’s diversity to the light a lot more, because it might have been everywhere the whole time, but you just couldn’t see it,” Kiley said.

The student body’s reaction to the formation of GSLBA has been mixed, but so far, Kiley says there haven’t been any really negative reactions. Over 45 people signed up to become members at Club Rush last month, and many members of the club are not even bisexual or homosexual. They all just share the virtues of support and compassion.

“This is just an issue I feel very close to,” said Stephanie Scott, a sophomore. “I’m big on protecting human rights in general, and I’m against any kind of discrimination whatsoever.”

According to Kiley, many of the people involved in the GSLBA don’t identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual. “They are there for straight support, and we all share a common goal: making a not-so-diverse community diverse in a small way.”

If you would like to join the GSLBA, you can contact Executive Board Member Miranda Ugalde at ex. 4436 or by e-mail at miranda.ugalde@salve.edu or come to the meetings in Wakehurst 101 on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.