About Us

Who We Are

The Gay-Straight Student Alliance (GSSA) of Wake Forest University exists to promote dialogue and understanding about sexual orientation issues. We hope that we can make our campus and our community a more welcoming place for all people through our efforts.

GSSA has two main purposes. First, we strive to promote understanding of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues and acceptance of the GLBT community through campus and community activities. Second, we exist to create a supportive social atmosphere on campus for members of the GLBT community and their allies.

Privacy & Participation

We respect the privacy of our members. Any secrets are safe with us. There is no formal list of members in GSSA. Everyone (including straight friends) is invited to become a part of the GSSA effort.

Our History

GSSA was recognized as the Gay and Lesbian Issues Awareness Group (GALA) by the undergraduate faculty on February 11, 1991. GALA was founded by a small group of students and had two advisors. The group later became the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Issues Awareness (GALBA) group in an attempt to become more inclusive. In 1998, reflecting desires for more straight participants and a growing campus mission, the constitution was re-written and name changed to Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). However, the acronym was the same as an existing campus group, so the word "Student" and an additional "S" were added to form the current name, GSSA.