The Gator Gay-Straight Alliance sprang into being in Fall 2000. The Alliance's purpose is to end homophobia (and indeed all forms of discrimination).

The Alliance is 'outward-directed'; that is, our efforts are not for our members but for the community in which we all live. Our events fall into three main categories: Fundraising; Visibility, Publicity and Awareness; and Community Outreach and Involvement.

To learn more about specific programs and events, check out the projects page to see our reoccuring projects, the events page to read about events that don't happen every semester, or email questions@gatorgsa.org.

GatorGSA is for everyone.

It is official Alliance policy that members' sexual orientation is not a factor in any decision or any official discussion. Moreover, we don't want to know who is gay and who isn't. All that matters at meetings is that you care and that you want to end homophobia and discrimination. At GGSA meetings and events, we are primarily activists - sexual orientation doesn't affect that in the least.

We want to build connections between gay (GLBTQ) students and straight students, based on a mutual desire for a more progressive, accepting community. GGSA is based on the premise that community-minded gay and straight students in fact share a common goal and should be working together. Homophobia (and its kin racism, sexism and heterosexism) is a social ill: it hurts everyone.

Although the group is called the Gator Gay-Straight Alliance, that doesn't mean bisexuals, lesbians, or transgendered folk aren't welcome. Clearly, even though our name isn't the whole alphabet long, or a euphemistic term like "pride" or "rainbow," we advocate on behalf of all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer people. We also welcome the participation, support, and input from people who don't go to UF. We might be primarly a student group, but we would never want to cut ourselves off from valuable ideas.

We strongly discourage members from asking, "Are you gay or straight?" but rather to be open and frank about their own sexual orientation as it relates to their identity, just as being a UF student in a particular major relates to their identity.

If you have specific questions about the organization, please send us e-mail or fill out a feedback form and you can expect a quick response.