Jamie Bennett
Staff Writer
Troy University’s Spectrum Alliance has been busy this semester with fliers going up every week for meetings, events and collaborations.
“We are an organization on campus that promotes equality, dignity and respect for all individuals regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation,” said Victoria Bailey, a senior social work major from Clovis, New Mexico. Bailey is an officer for the Spectrum Alliance.
The Spectrum Alliance, which was originally named the Gay-Straight Alliance, was disbanded a number of years ago.
Jana Wieser, a first-year graduate international relations major from Bremen, Germany, and the president of the Spectrum Alliance said: “It existed at one point, but then it disbanded. This is the fourth consecutive year since we restarted it.”
“We meet every Monday at 7 p.m. in Trojan Center 224,” Wieser said. “We have a steady 30 that come every meeting, sometimes less, sometimes more.”
When asked about some of their more recent activities, Bailey said, “We had a showing of the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ We also did a collaboration with the documentary club for a showing of the movie ‘Milk.’ ”
That’s not the only thing that the Spectrum Alliance has been doing lately. Members have also celebrated the holidays together.
Most recently, Bailey said, “We had a “Thanksgayving” potluck dinner.”
The dinner was held Monday night at a trailer in Forest Acres. Those interested were invited to join the Facebook event under the same name and encouraged to bring a dish and a friend.
A common misconception about the Spectrum Alliance is that one must be part of the LGBT community in order to join. That could not be further from the truth, according to the club president.
As for their meetings, Wieser said, “Everybody is welcome, and you don’t have to be gay to attend. We used to be the Gay-Straight Alliance, but two years ago we changed the name to Spectrum.
“There is a spectrum of people, and we want to be all-inclusive.”
“People should know that we don’t hang out and talk about how gay we are,” said Jordan Forshay, a sophomore social work major from Prattville and an officer of the Spectrum Alliance. “We talk about everybody being accepted for who they are.”
A typical meeting for the Spectrum Alliance is described as a place of open conversation. Its last meeting was about bullying in schools.
The group is open to talk about any subject of importance to members. Its members invite anyone who is simply interested in open thought and discussion to join, or attend a meeting.
The Spectrum Alliance encourages people to visit its social media sites. It has a Twitter account, @troyuspectrum; and a Facebook account, Troy University Spectrum Alliance.
The last meeting of the semester is Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. Members will be building their social platform and planning events for the next semester.
