What is GSA?

Brookwood's Gay-Straight Alliance is a club for LGBTQ+ students and their allies to meet each other, hang out in groups, express their feelings, learn about queer history, participate in social and political activism, and so much more. By view and approach, GSA is split into three pillars: Social, Support, and Activist. Each pillar is dedicated to facilitating conversation regarding their specific philosophy on GSA. For more information about individual pillars, please visit the respective pillar page using the navigation bar.

What does a GSA meeting look like?

You can expect the structure of a GSA meeting—with the exception of community events, celebrations, and off-campus meetings—to run like this:

I. Introduction (5-15 minutes) — We will run through some notable recent events, overall club announcements, and answer any student questions.

II. Convention (1 hour+) — As mentioned in "What is GSA?" the club is factioned into three pillars: Social, Support, and Activist. During a normal GSA meeting these pillars will occupy three parts of the club room and individually host activities/events specific to their philosophy. For more information about these specific activities, please visit the respective pillar page using the navigation bar. As a member, you have the full autonomy to choose where you want to go. Note that choosing a certain pillar is not anually binding, meaning that even though you may have went to a Support's Talking Circle one day, you're never barred from switching it up and joining an Activist's Discussion Group the next. We highly encourage you to taste the rainbow and find whatever makes you most comfortable.

III. Farewells (2-5 minutes) — To set up for the club meeting's official end, we like to leave you with a little recap of the day, plans for the next meeting, and anything else worth announcing.

Why should I join GSA?

Before we give you our little spiel, let's acknowledge one thing: arguably, there's no explicit academic incentive to join. We don't offer chords for 4-year long membership like other clubs, we aren't super stunning on a college application, and we sometimes aren't even well received in formal school club sponsorship.

So what's the deal? What does GSA offer? Well, where we offer our benefits isn't through the lens of a school, but through a person.

First, it's low commitment. We meet (at least) once a month, we don't ever take count of attendance, and we don't enforce any strenuous participation—unless you happen to fall into an Activist group. Everything is greatly based at your own volition, at your own time, at your own pace.

Second, it's incredibly personalized. Being in a convention-style method, GSA diversifies its modes of participation to fit your needs. Peruse the convention and dip in and out when you feel like it. There's no expectation for anything.

Third, it's a tight-knit community. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, and for the queer community, this has been a philosophical tenement for ages. The love we share establishes a family that transcends traditional conventions. If you're looking to make life-long friends, you might find them here (hopefully).

Fourth, there's networking. The assorted array of people you'll meet in GSA leads to a lot of opportunity to learn and engage. Want to do more volunteering? We got you. Want to get high school/college tips? We got you. Want to diversify your portfolio of reasources? We got you.

Now, if you're still skeptical, and you're not sure if GSA is worth it.

Maybe you should just come to a meeting and find out?

How do I join?

You just come. That's it.

Again, we don't really take role, so membership status is essentially self-assessed.