By SARA CHARLTON

Guest Reporter

The youngest of seven children, Arts & Sciences senior Marie Young has several ties to Creighton University. Her father is a deacon and member of Creighton faculty. Marie easily knew where she would spend four years of her life, making a mark of her own on Creighton.

As a senior, Marie is the president of the Gay Straight Alliance. She said she knew she would become a better asset not only to Creighton, but also to the advancing world community.

“GSA trains us to be leaders and to deal with struggles of prejudice and injustice,” Young said. “It preps us for the outside world, and I hope to make more students open and honest with themselves through my involvement.”

At a Catholic university, being homosexual comes with oppression and opposition from not only the university, but also from students who attend, Young said. The intrinsic disorder of being gay, as the Catholic Church calls it, is an obstacle for students every day, she said.

However, the opposition that Young spoke about is not just for their sexuality, but toward GSA events.

Some activities Marie is passionate about are awareness week, which occurs April 20-24, as well as the Creighton Allies Program. She said she also wants to plan events, such as a prom and movie nights, but the school is hesitant.

“The programs that the GSA wants to plan all have a really innocent basis and seem to be fun group-building activities,” Business sophomore David Dann, a member of GSA, said.

Many, if not all, homosexual individuals did not attend their high school proms with their significant other, or even a cute boy or girl of the same sex because it was not allowed, Young said.

She said she wants to host a prom at Creighton so these students who didn’t have a prom like so many remember could build memories of their own.

Creighton would not allow this sanctioned event and threatened the future of GSA, Young said. GSA is meant to be an educational and supportive group, so a social event like a prom wouldn’t fit within the group’s mission.

However, she is persistent with her future plans for the group and hopes the administration will begin to view these students with compassion and fairness that all students deserve.

Besides addressing inequality, she focused on her favorite aspects of being president of GSA.

“This group has seen so much oppression, so when we do see joy together, it’s the best joy,” Young said. “When we get together and relax, it’s the most loving community I’ve experienced anywhere.”

Marie has a unique ambition for life and a passion for social justice.

“Marie has this idea about how people should live their lives, full of joy and love, and she really treats others with this attitude in mind,” sophomore Laura Murphy, a GSA ally, said.

Murphy said Young responds to the opposition with compassion and doesn’t let oppression stand between her and the things she hopes to accomplish to better the lives around her.

“People were brought up to believe certain things, and have never been challenged,” Young said. “I usually tend to kill them with kindness so they realize how I really am.” Young uses this compassion to combat hatred.

“I just hope to put a lot in rather than take anything from this experience,” Young said. “I hope to foster an accepting environment, and I hope for everyone to treat each other with

compassion.”