Gay Straight Alliance Returns This Year

By Austin Cohea | Big Stick Editor |

The Gay Straight Alliance is set to host its first meeting of the year Oct. 3 in Saber 310. English IV teacher Paul Riser, after a year off in England, is back and is sponsoring the Gay Straight Alliance again.

“I hope that the students who attend the GSA meeting gain a space where they feel safe to express themselves to their peers, and also I hope they gain a space where they feel like they can make a difference in the Roosevelt community,” Riser said.

The club was formed in the 2011-2012 school year and originally English II teacher Jason Penney sponsored the club. Riser took over the next year and continued to sponsor it until the 2016-2017 school year.

The club will meet in Riser’s room on the third floor of the Saber building every other Wednesday.

“I think seeing students who want to be community conscious is probably the most exciting part,” Riser said, “the students who come are really looking for a way to be active in the San Antonio community just as much as they want to make a difference at Roosevelt and that is is exciting”

The club isn’t just for students who are LGBTQ+, but straight students as well.

“Everyone’s invited,” Riser said.

“We’re gonna have a general discussion about homophobia,” Senior Maximus Emperador, “We just want it to be like a safe space for people who either are gay, think that they’re gay or just straight people who want to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community, and people who aren’t comfortable with their sexuality yet.”