Members discuss ways to get more involved in GSA community.

The Gay-Straight Alliance is meeting at lunch in room A208 on Friday to celebrate National GSA Day, which took place on Feb. 5. In celebration of National GSA Day, this meeting

will be slightly different than the club’s regular meetings, during which GSA members discuss current events related to the LGBTQ community. In addition to talking about current events, the club will also be discussing ways to localize recent laws passed for the LGBTQ community at MVHS.

“We’re planning on having some pastries and food items and then having a large discussion about how to help the GSA community,” president junior Sophia Alejandre said. “We’ll be having a couple articles, some videos, just having a giant discussion.”

Alejandre expects to discuss some current events such as the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and how to be a supportive LGBTQ ally given that the Russian government is against the participation of homosexuals. In addition, the club will talk about recently passed laws requiring history teachers to incorporate lessons about LGBTQ events and historical figures, as well as laws passed permitting transgendered students to choose the bathrooms they want to use. The club will talk about how these laws relate to the LGBTQ community are or will be implemented at MVHS.

In addition to discussing these current events, the GSA club will also use National GSA Day as an opportunity to plan more activities for the club and find ways to make a larger impact.

“We received some forms from GSA Network,” Alejandre said. “It’s this big organization that helps GSA clubs, and it has tips and tricks about how to make your GSA better.”

GSA member senior Aditi Ramaswamy expects the club to talk about the significance of GSA organizations on campus, and the history of such organizations.

Current events officer junior Soham Chowdhury stressed that the meeting is open to anyone who wishes to learn more about the LGBTQ community, not just club members.

“This is our first celebration of National GSA Day, so we should get some more stuff going on as the year progresses,” Chowdhury said. “We were hoping to get the word out… to get more people interested in LGBT affairs.”

GSA meets every Friday at lunch in A208.