Ember Duke | layout editor |

Although Duquesne University is still pending its final decision, the Student Government Association unanimously approved the first step for LAMBDA Gender Sexuality Alliance to change its name to Queer Student Association on Oct. 9.

While the name change still requires approval from the university, this is a big step for QSA president Nialah Miller, who has been pursuing the name change since May 2023.

“I feel like it kind of helps to show that change is happening or possible on campus,” Miller said.

Leanna Fenneberg, Duquesne’s senior vice president of student life, said in an email to The Duke on Wednesday that while SGA governs the overall recognition of student organizations, the university has ultimate responsibility on issues related to upholding the values of Catholic identity and Spiritan mission and tradition.

“Naming university-related organizations falls within this domain. Therefore, while the name change has been initially approved by SGA, additional discussion is ongoing,” Fenneberg said. “Institutional priorities consistently include upholding our ability to deliver a quality education that aligns with our Spiritan and Catholic tradition, while respecting the dignity of and supporting students of all identities and backgrounds.”

The organization was met with pushback in previous attempts last year but after speaking with the club’s faculty advisor, Quincy Stephenson, and Fenneberg, Miller once again initiated the name change process this year.

Most of the delays regarded the university asking for more clarity in the wording of the club’s constitution.

Part of the setbacks came from the use of the word “queer.” Though the university didn’t disapprove of its use, some faculty members were concerned it may come across as offensive, according to an article published by Public Source in December 2023.

“It was never explicitly denied. It was more like, people kept giving us more things that we needed to … figure out before they were going to approve the name change,” Miller said.

Ray Sidney-Smith of Pittsburgh Equality Center, a non-profit LGBTQ+ community center, said the word “queer” has become widely reclaimed.

Because of its history as an offensive term, usage of the word requires education, he said. The context of its use is what determines if it’s pejorative or not.

“I think everybody has their own journey with regard to the word queer,” Sidney-Smith said. “I grew up in that generation where queer was a slur and … I’ve come around to it. … it also is within the community easier to understand that it’s an inclusive and encompassing word.”

Miller said the word “queer” has unnecessary negative connotations.

“It’s not a bad thing to say. If somebody says, ‘I identify as a queer person,’ you don’t have to whisper it.

Last academic year, the university approved a title expansion from LAMBDA to LAMBDA Gender Sexuality Alliance.

Despite the name expansion, it didn’t change much, Miller said.

“People only called it LAMBDA because it’s just easier,” Miller said

Fenneberg, who was present for the approval at last week’s SGA meeting, acknowledged the significance of the name change to the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s clear that a name change in this case has a great deal of merit – to establish a name that is more identifiable by members of the LGBTQ+ community, to help connect students with the organization,” Fenneberg said to The Duke. “One of the steps being undertaken is to review what other similar Catholic universities are doing in this space.”

Diversity organizations are welcome to have a representative at SGA meetings which may have made the initial SGA approval a more fluid process, said Samiya Henry, diversity, inclusion and identity co-chair.

Having representation present at SGA meetings gives organizations an opportunity to explain the significance of a change they are trying to make, Henry said. It was not as clear in the past that having a representative was an option.

“Having those extra voices to chime in and really validate that this is a choice that we need to give a thumbs up to is always going to be more helpful,” Henry said.

Miller introduced the change to bring more awareness to the club as many people did not know what LAMBDA meant.

“I just wanted something that was easier to recognize on campus for students,” Miller said. “So if you’re searching through CampusLink, you would know what it was by just reading the title of it.”

In QSA’s case, the new name will help bring more visibility to the organization, Sidney-Smith said. It could also bring off campus attention to the club, providing opportunities for connection with the greater Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ community.

“I would say that it’s great that the organization is rebranding itself to be a little bit more explicit about what it is,” he said. “That [makes] more students aware of the fact that they have this resource in the community.”

The rebrand could also bring off-campus attention to the organization, Sidney-Smith said.

As an ally and close friend of Miller, Henry thinks the new name will help students find the resources they need better.

“It just … brings better reputation to Duquesne as a whole,” Henry said.

The organization plans to update their social media and club branding to align with their new name change in the near future.

QSA acts as a general LGBTQ+ resource for the campus community rather than some of the more specific organizations like oSTEM and LAMBDA Law Society, said Miller. They hold several events throughout the year, regular meetings and a therapy group.

“I feel like queer is kind of a blanket term for everybody in the community,” Miller said. “So we wanted to make it pretty as inclusive as it could be … and then we wanted [to add the term] ‘association’ so that we would still be including everybody who was associated with us. Allies and everybody are all still welcome.”