San Antonio College’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) hosted a student-led Pride event April 10 in the mall area, bringing celebration and advocacy to the heart of campus amid growing concerns over statewide policies affecting LGBTQ+ spaces in public education.

Though Pride is traditionally held in June, organizers held the event during the spring semester to maximize student participation. 

“Obviously, it’s not June, so it’s not Pride Month,” Bridgette Phillips, president of the GSA said. “Students don’t have many classes during that time, that’s why we’re hosting the event now.”

Three weeks before the event, GSA lost access to a room in the Loftin Student Center as SAC administrators sought to ensure compliance with Texas’s Senate Bill 17. GSA members said the club’s “Pride Room” provided a supportive and relaxing environment for LGBTQ+ students, but the Texas bill, which passed in 2023, prohibits institutions of higher education from engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and activities. 

“Even though we mainly used our room as more of a safe space, inevitably the room had to come down,” Phillips said. 

In the wake of the loss, GSA students planned the Pride Day event, coordinating logistics, vendors and recruitment without faculty involvement. 

While some institutions have reduced or eliminated LGBTQ+ resources in response to SB-17, Phillips said she believes SAC’s location and its progressive student body have helped sustain an inclusive environment. 

The GSA holds weekly meetings open to students of all identities. Despite the loss of the Pride Room, Phillips said the group remains focused on fostering connection, inclusion and joy.

“We get to stand here and make people giggle,” Phillips told the Sundial. “Once you see the smile, that’s when you know you’ve got them.”

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