Usually when one thinks of the LGBTQ+ community on campus, one typically thinks of PRIDE, but there’s another organization on campus also focusing on LGBTQ+ community issues. The Marginalized Orientations, Gender Alignments, and Intersex Club (MOGAIlize), an organization created to promote awareness, creates change across campus and provide a safe space for those on the MOGAI spectrum.

“[MOGAIlize] discusses a range of topics pertaining to LGBTQ+ identity and we help advocate change and more inclusive policies on campus,” said current member, Keana Dubose.

The club differs from PRIDE in that PRIDE is more event based and MOGAIlize is more discussion based. Many students in MOGAIlize are also members of PRIDE, since they are sibling clubs.

MOGAIlize’s goal this year is to make more students aware of the organization and what they do. They began this mission at SOAR this past summer by talking to incoming freshman and their parents. Josh Carbajal, the current spokesperson, said that talking to everyone was “a great adventure.” The club also attends the Involvement Fair each semester.

MOGAIlize is holding a Twisted Thursday at Bartels Student Dining on Sept. 14, from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. The event will feature Tony Ferraiolo, a transgender man, showing his film, “A Self-Made Man,” which focuses on his transition. He will have a meet and greet beforehand and a Q&A session afterwards. The event is open to the entire campus and Carbajal believes that this will be a huge learning experience for those who attend the event.

“It’s something that they might not have done on their own, it’s like get out of your comfort zone and just find something that you can learn about yourself. Even if you’re not trans, you can take a huge message out of it, like be yourself,” said Carbajal about the film.

During the club’s weekly meetings, members are asked what topics they want to learn more about and they have a meeting dedicated to the recommended topics. Members can also educate the club about other topics they’ve researched and want to bring awareness to.

“If a person comes in and says ‘Hey, I want to learn about this topic, I want to learn about intersex people,’ we’ll have a whole meeting on it for you. It’s a learning experience for all of us,” said Carbajal.

A common misconception that Carbajal thinks may be why people don’t join the club is that you have to be part of the LGBTQ+ community to join, which is false. A lot of the active advocacy work is transgender focused, but you can also go just because you want to learn about something.

“I wouldn’t be who I am without it, and I want that to be a place for other people,” said Carbajal.