The Gender and Sexual Diversity (GSD) Alliance is a student-led organization which aims to deconstruct stereotypes and misconceptions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and the LGBTQ+ community. We believe that a well-informed community has the capacity to break barriers and effect positive change at both the local and national levels. Therefore, we empower students and faculty alike by facilitating allyship training programs, University and community partnerships, educational forums, and social events. We seek to serve the campus community by spearheading a counter-culture that prioritizes inclusivity in the face of a predominantly heteronormative and cisgender society. We celebrate diversity and aspire to validate Ecce Quam Bonum for all.

Our Approach 

 

1. Facilitating open dialogue.

​The GSD Alliance actively promotes the open discourse of the LGBTQ+ community and the adversities its members face in an effort to dismantle barriers between LGBTQ+ identifiers and those which do not classify themselves as queer. On campus, our residents are ambassadors to the student body by facilitating conversations about LGBTQ+ issues through educational and social programming.

2. Advocating for Safer and More Inclusive Institutional Policies.

​We work with faculty and administration to create change at the institutional level. We challenge pre-existing policies and collaborate with University affiliates to establish explicitly inclusive policies. Our focus is to advocate not only for immediate changes but also call for proposals for long term transformation and development.

3. Providing reliable resources for support and assistance.

​All members of the residential branch of the GSD Alliance, the Q&A House, are trained on how to respond and assist those in need by utilizing University resources as well as external informational and intervention resources. 

4. Actively working to make both immediate and lasting changes.

The Gender and Sexual Diversity Alliance is comprised of two branches: its residential branch, The Queer & Ally House, and its activist branch, Spectrum. By utilizing this organizational structure, we are able to specialize and better concentrate our efforts to produce the greatest impact. Our residential branch focuses on long term community building, while our activist branch works to produce immediate changes on campus pertaining to inclusion and diversity.