A lot of high schools and colleges have a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) organization on campus. The organization's purpose usually involves creating a safe space for people for the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) community, and to serve as a social network that will introduce them to people who are allies, all within the school that they are attending.

Most campuses have had some variation of a GSA organization for quite some time. Even the MCC campuses have hopped onto the bandwagon in recent years - all except Penn Valley, that is.

PVCC does not cover people within the GLBT community under the schools discrimination policy. This makes it a little tricky to encourage people to be themselves, and this oversight has been a sore point on all MCC campuses, which could be part of the reason most campuses have finally formed some type of GSA organization.

Until this semester PVCC did not have a GSA, or anything remotely close to one. "I think we are one of the last. I know Longview, Blue River, and Maple Woods all have a GSA club," said Bobbie Gustin, Cultural Awareness Resource Center Coordinator and Penn Valley's GSA Co-Advisor.

Gustin is on a mission to encourage Penn Valley's GLBT students, "to celebrate in the joy of being their true self," and to prove that, "it does not matter, either gay or straight, if we can all be allies for each other, we will be stronger."

Alongside Nancy Harrington, GSA's Faculty Sponsor, Gustin says, "We hope to give our GSA population a safe environment to interact, meet, and enjoy their time at MCC. This is also in hopes to build liaisons for our students with outside organizations or functions they may not already know about."

A lot of people interested in joining the new GSA might be a little concerned about their safety, since MCC's discrimination policy currently excludes the GLBT community, but when asked if club members should be worried, Gustin stated, "Not in my office space."

Gustin continued, "Working with students from all walks of life in the Cultural Awareness Resource Center, we have never had a problem with safety of any kind. I think having Nancy, a well known faculty member, and myself in the group with the students will deter acts of unkindness from occurring."

Gustin stressed that the GSA is not just for students in the GLBT community. It is also for students who might want to become an ally, or just want to help make MCC a safe space for everyone. "It is very important. If you believe in being safe - and wanting those people around you to feel safe as well - there is no question but to be an ally. Being true to yourself is easy, being true to everyone else is a gift," Gustin said.

An open invitation is extended to all interested Penn Valley students. "They can sign up in my office, LR207, the Cultural Awareness Resource Center. They can contact Nancy Harrington, or they can attend one of our functions," Gustin explained. "We are [also] working on getting a Yahoo group together to make communication available at all the time."

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