By Alyssa Guevara, Staff Writer
The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center in Apple Hall (Photo Borna Ganji/The Gettysburgian)
On Wednesday, the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) hosted the “Our Voices Reception” event from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. This event highlighted original pieces of written and artistic work submitted by students.
This reception was led by program coordinators Danae Madama ’25 and Julián Sanchez-Melchor ’24. Pieces were displayed for viewing at the GSRC so that attendees could browse through them. The goal of the reception was to uplift students’ voices through a creative art form.
The featured pieces focused on themes such as gender identity, sexuality, trauma, mental illness and immigration. Several written works were paired with artwork, an idea that came from Sanchez-Melchor.
Alison Bordeaux ’24 wrote a piece titled “Beauty is in Every Body,” and it touched on the topic of intense beauty standards and the journey of self-love. Alongside the written piece was a graphite drawing depicting a curvy woman. Bordeaux wrote that she wanted to show a body type that is not typically seen as “ideal” by current societal standards.
Another piece titled “Citric Cramps” was written by Faiza Hasib Khan ’26 and centered around the topic of menstruation. Khan also made a watercolor to accompany the essay.
Rory Wainwright ’25 wrote a poem titled “Hands of God,” which depicted the vulnerable experience of trauma using biblical similes.
Sanchez-Melchor submitted his own poem that discussed the trauma that immigrants and people of color face. Sanchez-Melchor wrote about forced assimilation, deportation and boarding schools while comparing these events to childhood tales like “El Cucuy.”
In previous years, this event was formerly known as “The Vagina Monologues,” but the name was changed to be more inclusive. In the year prior, the event took place in the Junction as an open-mic event. However, the location was changed to the GSRC to make the event more casual.
Madama shared that she believes this experience is important for people to tell their stories through an artistic outlet.
“It allows other people to relate to certain things that they may have experienced and might feel alone in, but hearing someone else’s story can help them realize that they’re not alone,” said Madama.
Student submissions, however, were lower this year than in previous years.
“We had already held an event earlier this semester in February, which was an open mic night, and we had 25 to 30 people show up. So maybe, because of that event, people were less interested in this one,” said Sanchez-Melchor. “I think sometimes when an event that has been happening for years kind of flops, you’re like, ‘What do I do? What did I do wrong?’ and the easiest answer is that sometimes it just didn’t work out right.”
However, this lower turnout did not deter Sanchez-Melchor.
“I still want to do something. So, right now everything that was published is going to be saved for the next year, and we’re going to try again,” explained Sanchez-Melchor.
Sanchez-Melchor stressed the importance of valuing the people who contributed to the reception. To show their appreciation, the GSRC gave flowers to the participants.
“I still want to celebrate the people who did submit something because it is difficult to share work like this,” said Sanchez-Melchor. “Sometimes it’s really hard to open up like that, but it’s always satisfying in the end.”
