When members of Spectrum created a Facebook event to combat a "non-gay" day, they had no idea people across the country would join in.
Spectrum created Straight Ally Pride Day to show appreciation to supporters of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community, Jenika Garetson, Spectrum president, said. Straight allies and other members of the GLBTQ community will wear gay pride shirts, bright colors and anything else people can think of to show support.
"We want to recognize that allies are part of the gay community," Garetson said. "Recognizing them has received mixed feelings and a lot of people didn't understand the idea of a Straight Ally Pride Day."
Garetson said allies still face criticism and opposition when they stand up for members of the GLBTQ community.
"At Ball State, we include our straight allies as part of the community. We still each have our own coming out story," she said.
Spectrum came up with the event after a friend showed her a Straight Pride Day event on Facebook that put down the GLBTQ community and was more about being "not gay" than straight, Garetson said.
"We wanted to combat hate with love, as cliché as it sounds. We can't stand to have people that were misrepresented [as anti-gay]," she said. "When we presented it to a Spectrum meeting, their response was, besides frustration and anger, let's create."
Participants of the Straight Pride Day will wear black and white, so people participating in Straight Ally Pride Day will wear bright-colored shirts and other articles that support the GLBTQ community, Kyle Stepler, Spectrum secretary, said.
"If people don't have a gay [pride] shirt, they could make a shirt, wear a button, put a rainbow sticker on, anything, really," he said. "If you have a gay friend or someone in the LGBTQ community, you could just go up to them adn say, ‘I'm here for you,' or go up to a straight ally and say, ‘Thank you for everything.'"
More than 2,200 people have said they're attending on Facebook, many of which are non-Ball State students, including people from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Stepler said he couldn't believe how many people from other states said they were participating.
"I know there are people attending across the country. It's gotten around and it shows there are people out there who do care," he said. "Facebook is a great way to have your voice be heard and spread information so easily."
Garetson said the response was a definite surprise.
"I wasn't expecting this day to take off and grow so much. I just thought it would be a Spectrum thing," she said. "When 2,000 people wanted to be a part of it, I was shocked. I wasn't expecting so many people to be interested."
Stepler said he wants the event to spread awareness and get new people to support the GLBTQ community.
"I hope to see at least one person I don't know wearing a ‘gay' shirt. Just one. That's all I care about," he said. "I know all my friends and Spectrum members will wear them and that's great. I want to see people who aren't involved in Spectrum [participating]. To me, that would show that this group has paid off."
About Safe Zone
Safe zone trains people to be an ally for the GLBTQ community. They learn correct terminology and resources to help guide members of the GLBTQ community if and when they need help.
Upcoming training sessions:
Feb. 8
March 21
April 7
Those interested can sign up for a training session by e-mailing safezone@bsu.edu
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