By Grey Tang (’26)
GSA club members pose for Rainier Lin ‘25 as she films for the Pink Shirt Day activity introduction video.
The following article is about West Point Grey Academy’s GSA club. It serves as a baseline introduction to what GSA is, and what the club is about.
The following article is also about a soon-to-be graduate of our school. Just skip the italicized bits if that’s not relevant to you.
Over the years, I have had the pleasure of meeting with some of the most effervescent and passionate people I know through the GSA.
Now, I have to admit, I’ve never had a particularly consistent attendance, nor have I been the most outspoken about my involvement. In fact, I’ve gone to three meetings this year and each time I’ve left halfway through. But it would be a lie to say that GSA hasn’t been a pillar of my high school experience. And what’s made it such a crucial component in my life are the people. To commemorate that, this interview serves as a record of one of the leading members, someone who has been with GSA since I first joined and is one of the most hardworking and talented workers I know: Rainier Lin ‘25, who is graduating in two months.
Introduce yourself and your role in GSA.
Rainier: My name is Rainier, I’m in Grade 12, and alongside Sorren [we have been] the co-leaders of GSA for the last two years. We pretty much manage the meetings, talk to everybody, and have fun. Unfortunately, this year we’ve been put into an odd sort of family parental situation.
When she puts it that way, it does seem like one big family. Rainier answers over the cacophony of several conversations going on at once- I’ve caught her amid a GSA meeting, and all the members are eager to chat. But despite their rowdiness, they fall in line when the two grade twelve co-leaders begin talking.
What is GSA? What does it stand for? Who’s allowed to come?
Rainier: GSA stands for Gender Sexuality Alliance. The club is supposed to promote inclusivity at our school… that’s the easiest way to sum it up. Anyone is allowed to come. That’s why it’s called the Gender Sexuality Alliance… if you want to [come], we don’t close our doors.
The first time I attempt to ask this question, Rainier chastises me for not asking for consent to record. Once again, I find myself following her guidance. The younger members of GSA flock to her like chicks for good reason- she knows what she’s doing.
What does GSA do?
Rainier: This year, we’ve been doing more things, like changing our school policies to be more inclusive. One we’re working on right now is the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) policy, and also the anti-bullying policy. We also do events… you’ve seen our Pink Shirt Day event, and coming up we also have our Pride Week event. Yeah, we make events and promote awareness, pretty much.
Walk me through an average meeting.
Rainier: Oh dear… we have our WhatsApp group, and either Sorren or I will send out a meeting plan the night before. We haven’t been doing that now because of Tech Week–
Besides reviving GSA, Rainier’s also an incredibly talented actor involved in Theatre Company, whose speech and expressions bring her characters to life like never before. It’s the Monday after I watched her performance, and despite missing a full week of school for Tech Week, she’s gracious enough to sit down with me today.
–and nobody has the brain cells to do it. But usually, it’s quite detailed. Like what we’ll do first, then next, then afterwards… to follow through with it, we have Oliver. He’s our secretary, and he takes our meeting minutes, which are basically descriptors of what happens during the meeting. He’ll write down the minute we start, who’s in attendance, who speaks, what questions are raised, and all that fun stuff.
When did you first join?
Rainier: Pride Week, three years ago is when I joined… they needed extra hands. I didn’t join when all of my friends joined… in Grade 8, probably because I had other clubs. But then when I joined they all left. So it was just me, you, Sorren and Elliott. That was the first time I was… in a leadership position, which was kinda weird. Communism, haha.
That’s a reference to the wacky power structure that was in place during last year’s GSA. Due to the lack of members, meetings and roles were never officially established, despite it being pretty clear Rainier and Sorren were the de facto leaders.
What’s your fondest memory?
Rainier: My fondest memory is when you started reciting the Bible.
What are some things that the club has accomplished under your leadership?
Rainier: Two years ago GSA disappeared for a while. I think we have successfully brought ourselves out a little bit more: we have collaborated with PEAKS… put ourselves out on [Film and TV] as well. We’ve been trying to put ourselves out there. Advertisement! There’s a lot more people now. It’s great.
GSA kind of died out?
Rainier: It kind of died out, yeah. It died out because the one person who had been leading it, the sister of the original creator, had been leading it from Grade 8 all the way till Grade 12… that’s why when she left the school it all went downhill. We had no one else to work on it. So it’s good that [we’re both] here [Rainier and Sorren] to do that now. And since we have more people we know who to pass it on to next year.
It’s true. By the time I started popping into meetings, GSA was a shadow of its former glory. Rainier and Sorren’s persistent leadership and dedication really did bring the club back, and for that I’m forever grateful, because now there’s a place I can pop into on Mondays at lunch when I’m not busy with other clubs.
What are your hopes for GSA in the future?
Rainier: Well, we hope that GSA doesn’t die out again. And we hope that the things that we’ve established–the Pink Shirt Day video, Pride Week events and activities, GSA videos, and our presentations–we hope those will be continued.
I hope so too. The amount of work that has gone into those videos was astronomical, and the frame-by-frame animations that Rainier dedicated her time to making deserve preservation. Not to mention the effort that went into working with the administration for logo and policy changes.
What would you like to say to the current and future members of GSA?
Rainier: What I want to say to my GSA members? Uhm… don’t force people into arranged marriages! That’s it. Wonderful. Did you get all the information you needed?
I don’t understand the joke (that’s on me, for not being at the meetings), but I can only assume it’s relevant to the current members. Nevertheless, it’s personal enough that I break from my script and lament her leaving the school.
Man. What are we going to do without you?
It’s the same question I asked closing night of the school play when I rushed up to her on stage, suddenly realizing that might’ve been the last time I saw her perform.
Rainier: You’re going to do so many fun things! … You guys will do great without me. It’ll be fine!
She laughs. Of course, she laughs. It’s Rainier’s signature assurance, and I can’t help but laugh too. Rainier’s usually right, after all. Even if it’s bittersweet.