“Spread the love” is a classic saying for promoting equality. It’s also said Missy Dojcsak’s favorite expression. Dojcsak, a junior art major and theater minor at Siena Heights University (SHU) is tackling five jobs, balancing 18 credit hours, and leading Siena Heights’ PRIDE (gay-straight alliance) as president.
When Dojcsak was a freshman, she noticed that there was no GSA (gay-straight alliance) at SHU, but it was as a sophomore, when Paul Spradley accepted the Director of Multicultural Student Services position, that an opportunity arose to promote change.
In spring 2012, Dojcsak assembled a group of five or six students. With no prior experience being in a GSA, they prepared for Day of Silence (a day in late April where students take a vow of silence for the day, to echo the silence of bullying the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. More than 100 students pledged silence. “There wasn’t one in my high school, the idea of homosexuality was not very accepted,” Dojcask explained, “But when I came to Siena, I became a lot closer to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students) students and noticed that there wasn’t a GSA group here.”
“Homosexuality is still a hard topic to talk about, and is usually avoided in conversation, Dojcask continued. “On the view of gay rights, America is regressing. We all recognize that this problem exists, but most choose to ignore it.”
As a private catholic university starting PRIDE was not easy. In order to get SHU to understand and respect the LGBT community fully and with equality, small steps have to be taken, “First I’d like to create more acceptance, then focus on breaking down stereotypes here at Siena,” Dojcask said. “Because I am president of the gay-straight alliance, many just assume I am gay when they are incorrect.”
Trying to spread awareness and acceptance of the LGBT community is no easy task. Yet there is been noticeable difference this year at SHU, “Since freshman year, it (the topic of homosexuality) has gotten easier to talk about, and awareness has grown. Siena is a family community, everyone has each other’s backs, and our generation has a more open mind.”
The attitude at SHU are similar to others around the country, as Dojcsak reveals notes it will take years for equal rights to finally reach all of America, “We have been dealing with inequality for years, it could take 20 years or more for equality in every state, but probably 5 to 10 years in Michigan. The problem is that there are other deeper issues at hand, like equal pay for women, and those issues will be addressed first before the LGBT community will receive equal rights”.
