The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) at Arkansas State University kicked off the spring semester with June in January, a Pride event that aimed to bring LGBTQ+ students and allies together.

“When we were trying to figure out what events we wanted to submit for this semester, we thought ‘it’s so sad that June isn’t during the school year, because that’s Pride Month,” said Trin Reppenhagen, a first-year graphic design major from Searcy and GSA president. “Most Pride type of events will be held and none of us are together during June because school is not in.”

June in January is not the first event the GSA has held this year. In the fall, they partnered with the Multicultural Center and hosted a seminar about being a better ally. 

Taking place on Jan. 18, the event began at 6 p.m. Students in attendance made friendship bracelets while “a very queer playlist” played in the background and plates of cake were passed around. At 7 p.m. Reppenhagan gave a presentation on LGBTQ+ history. The event concluded with a game of Kahoot. 

“Ideas just kind of snowballed off each other. We knew we wanted to do a presentation, do some educational stuff. (We wondered), ‘what else do we do? So we were like, okay, music and friendship bracelets. That’s kind of fruity,’” said Charlize Griffin, a first-year graphic design major from Cabot and the social media manager of GSA. 

Forty people attended the event. 

“This is our biggest since I started in the fall. This is the biggest turnout that we’ve had,” said Christine Wright, department chair of occupational therapy and faculty advisor for GSA. “Our first meeting we had about 22 people there, but you know as the semester gets started and when people are new to campus, sometimes that dwindles. To have this many people here is very exciting.”

Since the GSA does not have funding yet, everything for June in January had to be paid for out of pocket. The event cost around $200. 

Reppenhagan wanted to get the GSA back up and running after touring A-State. They learned Nora Bouzihay, former interim director of the Multicultural Center, was working on restarting the organization and helped make up a mailing list and create an executive board. 

“I hope the event makes people know we exist because a lot of people, since we did essentially just start last semester, they don’t know it exists,” Reppenhagan said. “I’m trying to boost our rep and make people know that we exist and that we’re here. We’re a resource on campus for queer people that need it.”

Wright said it was exciting to provide a Pride event for students. 

“I want people to know that they’re not isolated and that this university supports the LGBTQIA community, although we were not as big as maybe some other communities on campus, we are growing,” Wright said.

Later in the semester, GSA plans to host a “Pride Prom” for LGBTQ+ students to wear what they want and to bring who they want. 

For students interested in attending, GSA hosts weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in the Arkansas River Room in the Reng Student Union. 

“Coming to college and being able to have that, it made me want to cry because to have that safe space on campus is such a nice feeling, especially with how diverse our group is,” Griffin said. “It’s just nice to be able to sit d

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