Alex Given ’24, an international relation major from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is the president of SJU Pride. Given, who identifies as transgender queer, said SJU Pride has provided him with a space he never had before arriving at St. Joe’s. The Hawk sat down with Give to find out how he helps SJUPride fulfill its missions of making the organization a safe space for everyone.
The Hawk: What inspired you to join SJUPride?
Given: I wanted to really find something on campus, especially since this is such a turning point in life. It’s good to have that community and have that support and be able to talk to people about what it is like to be queer in college. I went to the first meeting. That was rough because covid was still happening and everything was still online. But even then, it was still really nice to just have a little space where you can talk about all this, all these different aspects of college life and being queer…I want to be able to help create that community on campus.
The Hawk: How important is it to you for there to be a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community?
Given: I think it’s very important, especially as a queer person, to have that community that you can talk about these different changes happening in your life and having that support and that safe space where you don’t have to worry about holding up all of these walls and hiding different parts of you. Having that space to relax and be surrounded by other creative people is super important.
The Hawk: What is something that would surprise people who aren’t part of SJUPride?
Given: I think one of the things that was surprising for me was how quickly you gain a sense of community…But I think one of the things that people don’t really know is that we do have different events. Of course, we have the fun events that are meant to help build that community. But we also have meetings that revolve specifically around the intersectionality of being queer and a person of color, which are our mosaic meetings.
The Hawk: How can St. Joe’s be more welcoming toward members of the LGBTQ community?
Given: In terms of what the school can do, I think definitely in the classroom and in those environments, make it mandatory for professors to go to Safe Zone training. Or having the teachers actually ask [students] for preferred pronouns or preferred names and have the professors be more open and aware of asking those kinds of questions.
The Hawk: What is your mission as president of Pride?
Given: Definitely to reach out more and bring more awareness, especially as someone who is trans, seeing all of the legislation and hate crimes that are happening to trans youths. It’s definitely personal for me.
The Hawk: What would you say to somebody who is currently considering joining SJUPride?
Given: Obviously, if you’re comfortable, come. All of our events are obviously very open to anyone, no matter their stage of questioning, no matter what their gender identity or sexuality identity is. What’s said in Pride stays in Pride, and what’s learned in Pride leaves Pride.
