With romance in the air and chalk hearts on the floor, Sequoia students gathered in the quad on Wednesday, Feb. 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day. For many looking to buy sweet treats and support their favorite clubs, the Gender Sexuality Alliance’s (GSA) Marriage Ceremony booth may not stick out from the crowd. Allowing one to four students to attain a symbolic marriage certificate and ceremony, the booth is fun to visit but also a historically significant tradition.
According to GSA secretary, Abel Chavez, the idea came about during an important time for LGBTQ rights in America.
“The history behind our marriage ceremonies is actually really deep,” Chavez said. “We first started it when same-sex marriage was in the process of being legalized in the United States.”
Having been fought for in movements for decades, gay marriage was achieved in June 2015 for all fifty states. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the ’90s and 2000s brought many wins, but also setbacks for gay marriage making this era difficult to navigate for the LGBTQ community, especially gay youth.
GSA’s co-president Ethan Thacker, notes the booth was a way of remedying the negative effects of the time period on Sequoia’s LGBTQ students.
“It’s kind of always been a little undercover way of us standing in solidarity with our community,” Thacker said. “It’s also a really fun thing to do and we make it all about positivity.”
Besides its rich history, another benefit of supporting the booth is that the profits support the club and its future events for Sequoia’s LGBTQ community.
“All the money goes into the other events we plan like our upcoming Pride Fair this Friday, so it’s a really successful event,” Chavez said.
The GSA also puts its profits toward other organizations that benefit LGBTQ youth.
“We donate money to charities or organizations like PFLAG and San Mateo County Pride Center,” Thacker said.
The marriage ceremony booth and its sentiment for the LGBTQ community will continue in future years, working to make Sequoia a safer space for all its students.