SAGA Spreads Love and Inclusivity Through Campus
The Sexuality and Gender Alliance club is making a positive impact all around Pioneer campus and others around it.
By Sophia Aranda
The Sexuality and Gender Alliance club is making a positive impact all around Pioneer campus and others around it.
By Sophia Aranda
A long-time staple of Pioneer’s clubs, the Sexuality and Gender Alliance has always worked to create a welcoming, inclusive environment on campus, and this year, their efforts are reaching out to other local schools to reach another generation of students.
SAGA, led by President Kade Williams, 12, holds meetings each week on Wednesdays in English teacher and club adviser Chanel Sulc’s room during lunch.
"SAGA is a club where we work to provide an inclusive environment for everyone. We work to create a space where people feel safe being themselves and can discuss sexual and gender orientation,” said Williams.
This semester, the Rainbow Club at Grant Elementary School invited the SAGA club to start a pen pal program. This is an opportunity for the SAGA club members to be role models for kids that might not have access to one and build trust while opening conversations that younger kids may have questions about.
“The purpose of the pen pal event is to provide a resource for younger children to talk to older queer teenagers. We hope that we can be role models or an older figure to support them. We were offered this opportunity from Grant Elementary and we thought it was a wonderful opportunity to connect to the younger generation,” said Vice President Allison Hoang, 11.
To escape being targeted and uncomfortable situations the LGBTQ+ community faces, SAGA is a space that is safe for students to express themselves freely.
“I think especially in the time period we're living in where there's so many attacks on queer and trans students and teachers, it's especially important to have this visibility and this safe space,” said Sulc.
Students are welcome to talk about their experiences and hang out in a space where they feel comfortable and accepted.
“In the club meetings I usually talk and hang out with my friends, and recently we’ve been playing some board and card games. So far we had a Kahoot session and played some group games,” said club member Sam Argente, 9.
Other members, such as freshman Sydney Petree, have found SAGA to be an open-minded place on campus.
“I joined because it was a great place for my friends and I to go hang out and be around other people that we can feel comfortable with,” said Petree.
SAGA, and other clubs like this, bring inclusivity just by being around on campus. By creating a comfortable environment, members are allowed to express themselves, have fun and create memories with each other. Along with a safe environment, this club is changing the way conversations about LGBTQ+ are held. By teaming up with the Rainbow Club, SAGA is helping form a more inclusive future.
“I think these kinds of clubs are important because people can feel like their authentic selves with people who are like them,” Cali Lau, 9. “These clubs will definitely help bring people together, since you can meet new people that are already similar to you.”
SAGA, led by President Kade Williams, 12, holds meetings each week on Wednesdays in English teacher and club adviser Chanel Sulc’s room during lunch.
"SAGA is a club where we work to provide an inclusive environment for everyone. We work to create a space where people feel safe being themselves and can discuss sexual and gender orientation,” said Williams.
This semester, the Rainbow Club at Grant Elementary School invited the SAGA club to start a pen pal program. This is an opportunity for the SAGA club members to be role models for kids that might not have access to one and build trust while opening conversations that younger kids may have questions about.
“The purpose of the pen pal event is to provide a resource for younger children to talk to older queer teenagers. We hope that we can be role models or an older figure to support them. We were offered this opportunity from Grant Elementary and we thought it was a wonderful opportunity to connect to the younger generation,” said Vice President Allison Hoang, 11.
To escape being targeted and uncomfortable situations the LGBTQ+ community faces, SAGA is a space that is safe for students to express themselves freely.
“I think especially in the time period we're living in where there's so many attacks on queer and trans students and teachers, it's especially important to have this visibility and this safe space,” said Sulc.
Students are welcome to talk about their experiences and hang out in a space where they feel comfortable and accepted.
“In the club meetings I usually talk and hang out with my friends, and recently we’ve been playing some board and card games. So far we had a Kahoot session and played some group games,” said club member Sam Argente, 9.
Other members, such as freshman Sydney Petree, have found SAGA to be an open-minded place on campus.
“I joined because it was a great place for my friends and I to go hang out and be around other people that we can feel comfortable with,” said Petree.
SAGA, and other clubs like this, bring inclusivity just by being around on campus. By creating a comfortable environment, members are allowed to express themselves, have fun and create memories with each other. Along with a safe environment, this club is changing the way conversations about LGBTQ+ are held. By teaming up with the Rainbow Club, SAGA is helping form a more inclusive future.
“I think these kinds of clubs are important because people can feel like their authentic selves with people who are like them,” Cali Lau, 9. “These clubs will definitely help bring people together, since you can meet new people that are already similar to you.”