PRISM is the newly branded name for GSA (Gender Sexualities Alliance) here at Wheaton Warrenville South. The organization was started in the late 1990s and disintegrated slowly, however, in 2015, senior Jacob Sutherland resurrected it to assure acceptance in the student body.

In Spring of 2018, participants of GSA decided to rename the club to make it a more accepting environment. With an open door policy, students are welcome to attend as often as they need to. Confusion regarding the name is a result of the lack of information and is why Junior President Andrew Moore and his peers changed the name to PRISM. Moore states, “We changed PRISM’s name from GSA (Gender Sexualities Alliance) to reflect the new leadership, as well as to reflect the more inclusive environment we strive to create at Wheaton Warrenville South.” He is a strong believer that PRISM will thrive and is important to have here at WWS. Moore continues on to say that “we hope PRISM will help not only students in marginalized groups (LGBTQ+, etc.), but that it’ll inspire the student body to become more supportive and accepting.”

Members of the club do believe that PRISM is a necessary asset here at WWS to achieve acceptance in the Wheaton/Warrenville community. “PRISM offers a safe space to students in minority groups, but also offers a fun place for students to get to know their peers, with game days, event parties, as well as organizes Days of Silence, Unity Day, and more national events,” says Moore. Jeff Nesbit of U.S. News states, “We live in a political environment in which people are being attacked for how they live and whom they love. Society makes it very hard to be a queer youth. I think it’s really important to understand the healing and transformative power of being a part of a supportive community. When we join together as allies and take a stand against hate and share our lives, it forms a whole that is greater than [the] sum of its individual parts.”

PRISM will have its first meeting in room G180 Wednesday, September 19th with club sponsor and Health teacher, Erica Valenti.