There’s a new club on campus. The Straights and Gays for Equality, or SAGE club, aims to provide a safe community of LGBTQ teens and their allies. They will meet Wednesday during B lunch, in D207.

The president and creator of the club Dianna Morales, senior, started the club in hopes of creating a setting where LGBTQ students can collaborate and learn more about their community.

“I’m really more concerned about the educational and safe aspects of it,” she said. “I’m hoping that more students can feel safe and be able to express themselves.”

Helping her launch and sustain the club is psychology teacher Tanner Grimm.

“It’s already a difficult time going through high school, regardless of your sexual orientation,” Grimm said. “It’s doubling, if not more-so, for the LGBTQ community going through high school.”

In order to get any club started at AHS, principal Shaveer Dhalla has to approve it first. Dhalla said that he had no problem in giving this club the ok.

“I try to approve as many clubs as I can,” Dhalla said. “It sounds like a safe club, and I’m more than willing to approve something like this.”

While the club will be a secure area with plenty of time for social interaction, Morales also hopes to help teach club members more about the LGBTQ community.

“We were thinking of bringing in speakers to talk about the educational aspect of [the LGBT community],” Morales said. “We are also going to expand [about] upcoming pride events and things the club can do as a group.”

Unfortunately, some students around the school are not as excited about the characteristics of equality the club is hoping to bring. Some people went around the school and tore down the posters that Morales put up to promote the club.

“If [tearing down the posters] is for the reasoning of being against the club itself, then it’s very idiotic, homophobic and ignorant of them,” Grimm said about the offense.

Morales was also very upset by the hateful act. Fortunately though, she created new posters to hang around the school and they are in good shape.

“I’m very saddened,” Morales said, “because I know people tend to be homophobic in this state and I was kind of hoping that [the introduction] of this club could [decrease] discrimination, but obviously it’s still very present.”

In the end, the welfare and inclusion of the students is the most important aspect of any school, and Dhalla strongly agrees with this.

“Your teenage years are the most confusing years of your life,” he said, “so for me it’s more important that we offer a safe environment for everyone.”

Since the meetings are during B lunch, Morales has plans in the works to make sure that freshmen and anyone else who has A lunch can join as well.

“We will have after school meetings,” she said. “We were thinking of having meetings during A lunch as well, but we probably won’t go forward with that.”

As any other club does, SAGE Club will also have an array of officers. Morales has already  been deemed president.

“Officer elections will be during the second meeting,” Morales said. “[The officers] will be appointed by the people at the meeting.”

As a sponsor, Grimm’s job will solely be to be the adult and help the students if needed. Morales will actually run and organize the club.

“It’s not my part to be involved,” he said. “As the faculty sponsor, it is my job to get the word out and be in favor of the student and what she wants to do.”

To Dhalla, this club is just another addition to our high school’s diversity; another environment for students to feel free to express themselves.

“Our clubs and extracurricular activities are about things that range from religion to hobbies to interests,” Dhalla said. “I don’t view this as any different from those.”

Morales just hopes that the club will go well and be up and running for many years to come.

“I just really hope it goes well,” she said. “I hope it can do something to help the school, and I hope it can continue on and it doesn’t just stop after I leave.”