Club Spotlight: Gender Sexuality Alliance
Emma Dreispiel was in her first year at OHS when she made a brave decision and offered to be the president of the Gender Sexuality Alliance. A year later, Emma is a senior and just as passionate and driven to make this club as impactful as she knows it can be. The GSA club, which is for members of the LGBTQ community and its allies, is “a support group to find friends, other Queer kids, and allies, but also a place to engage in activism if you want, or a place to learn more about the community,” Emma explains. The club meetings start with a quick study of a role model that has contributed something to the LGBTQ community and a question of the day. The remainder of the meeting is discussion style and the topics for each Friday alternate. One Friday, the club will analyze LGBTQ history, provided to them by the club historians Kate Joukovski and Alina Zhong. The following Friday, the club will focus on specific days and months of observance. For example, in February their conversations are influenced by Black History Month, and in November the Transgender Day of Remembrance guides their discussions. The GSA club also hosts many guest speakers and actively communicates with parents and the administration to ensure that no one who could possibly benefit from the club is unaware of its existence, and therefore without its support.
Our work to stand by and lift up the LGBTQ community within OHS is becoming more and more essential as we observe how the world is handling LGBTQ rights. We have come a long way in the past 20 years, but Emma says we still have a long way to go. “We definitely can do better as a society, but I don’t think it’s just about LGBTQ rights. I think it’s about human rights in general,” Emma expresses. When we have the courage to approach these difficult conversations without prejudice and pride, we will see exponential growth in the respect people have for members of the LGBTQ community and its allies, a respect that never should have been denied in the first place. The GSA club fosters a space for these conversations to be had, in the privacy of the group, where the participants are willing to listen, and do not assume your gender or sexuality or position on issues. With these conversations, we will see change starting in our households and local churches and coffee shops, and then soon across our country and world.
If you are an OHS student receiving hate for your sexuality, Emma has a clear statement for you regarding your haters: “It’s not your job to make them understand. Your priority is yourself, and you need to make sure that you are safe first. The GSA is here to make the community more understanding. This is not something you have to do alone.” Often, you can’t change people’s minds in the moment nor are you responsible for their reactions. On behalf of the GSA club, Emma wants you to know that the members of the club and the OHS administration are willing to fight alongside you, because she believes that you shouldn’t have to go through this alone. Despite how cliché this sounds, be proud of who you are and love yourself. If you don’t love yourself, you can’t expect others to. Putting your sexuality on display for others to critique is commendable. It takes great strength to be so vulnerable. Additionally, Emma explains that it’s necessary for “non-LGBTQ folk to learn that it’s really important to be allies because more rights for a certain community is more rights for everybody.” For example, when programs like the GSA club work to reduce cyberbullying at school, that reduces bullying for all students, not just those in the LGBTQ community.
Currently, the GSA club is running a campaign to include more LGBTQ-related discussions within classrooms. They work with willing teachers to contribute to the curriculum so that all students feel like they are being represented in the lessons. The club is also planning on collaborating with the Black Student Union Club and the Lit Club, where they will discuss LGBTQ representation in the media. They are also looking forward to hosting a drag race and a conversation on sex ed with the Girl Up Club. Make sure to be on the lookout for those fun and informative events!
If you’re interested, try attending a meeting! They are intentionally not recorded and what is said in the GSA club stays in the GSA club. There are no requirements, and no assumptions are made. They meet every Friday, and you can come to as many or as few meetings as you prefer. Contact Emma Dreispiel or find the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Skype group in the Skype directory for further inquiries, details, and updates.
Emma says the goal of the GSA club is to “provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ students, but we also want to raise awareness at school and make sure that LGBTQ students feel safe coming to OHS.” The work they contribute to the OHS community is productive toward reaching their goal and does not go unnoticed. Despite whatever initial opinion of this club you had, one thing is for sure: the GSA club wants OHS students to know that they are there for them, whether they are in the LGBTQ community or not. They are passionate about helping people and breaking down any stereotypes or preconceived notions of the LGBTQ community and its allies, which is nothing short of admirable.