The SAGE is back
The Registered Student Organization SAGE (Sexuality And Gender Empowerment is back after ceasing operations several years ago.
SAGE is an alliance of LGBTQI+ community members and supporters who work together to bring awareness to sexuality and gender inequality issues.
“Our mission is to spread awareness about LGBTQ+ issues and LGBTQ people in general,” said the SAGE’s president, Alex Glaser. “Our biggest thing right now is just making sure that we can spread awareness about this club.”
Glaser said SAGE wants to bring awareness to the issues of transphobia they say are spreading all over the country.
“In Florida, there was a bathroom bill that passed saying that everyone has to go to the bathroom that matches the gender marker on their birth certificate. And if you’re trans but haven’t gotten a legal change, then trans women are forced to use the men’s bathroom,” said Glaser. “A lot of that is just from the fact that people aren’t educated about trans people, and if they were a lot of that hysteria would die down.”
According to Glaser, people can be targeted for gender identity in Florida.
“There have been multiple attacks, some lethal, and what’s even worse is that even cis people are getting targeted by this, which just shows how absurd this transphobia is,” said Glaser. “If people just see someone who they think has something the slightest bit wrong about them, they call that ‘grounds’ as they’re trans and I have a right to attack them, which is a very scary thing.”
Members of SAGE said they want to spread awareness about trans people and the continuous harm that is happening in the country.
In the past SAGE had to stop its operations because of the lack of resources. RSO’s Treasurer Andrew Colleran said that the absence of an academic advisor also affected SAGE.
“During the time where there wasn’t any activity to get started like, there was no there was no flyers, no advertising — it’s like it was just chat and no one knew about what we are and what we are doing,” said Colleran.
Vice President Abbey Andree said it was hard to find interest among students at the time SAGE was established. She said because of that, it was hard for the RSO to keep up with the activities.
Now that the club is back, members are welcoming all interested students. To join, email andrew@colleran@mnsu.edu or come to the RSO’s meetings, which are held at 3 p.m, Fridays in CSU room 191.
Header photo: Sage is an alliance of LGBTQI+ community members and supporters who bring awareness to sexuality and gender inequality issues. (Alexis Darkow/The Reporter)
Write to Amalia Sharaf at Amal.sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu