Sexuality and Gender Awareness Week, also known as SAGDAW, returns to Loyola this semester, bringing a series of events centered around education, identity, and community. Organized by Loyola’s LGBTQ+ Services and Spectrum Experience, this week aims to create a safe, inclusive space for conversation and celebration across campus.
Since 2002, SAGDAW has been an annual week of celebration, awareness, and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community. Through discussions, programming, and community gatherings, this initiative encourages students and faculty to engage in topics surrounding gender, sexuality, and identity.
According to Director of LGBTQ+ Student Services at Loyola Pat Cassidy (he/him), SAGDAW serves as both a celebration and an opportunity for education and empowerment on campus. He emphasizes the importance of creating inclusivity and fostering understanding within the community.
“I think SAGDAW is about celebrating the community and about educating folks around the LGBTQ+ community. I also believe it’s about increasing visibility of queer folk on campus,” Cassidy said.
SAGDAW also highlights Loyola’s broader mission and values, particularly its commitment to dignity, inclusion, and community. For the first time, this week overlaps with Loyola’s Mission Week, further emphasizing these connections.
“It’s a way to demonstrate how this work is part of the mission and values of Loyola and how beautifully queer students and queer employees contribute to that mission. It’s very special this year that SAGDAW overlaps with Loyola’s Mission Week,” Cassidy said.
One of the most visible traditions during SAGDAW is campus decorating, where the student body comes together to create posters, messages, and different displays celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. These decorations are placed across campus, with the most common places being the Student Center, across the bridge, and the Humanities Center. They transform everyday spaces into reminders of visibility, pride, and inclusion.
Director of Policy and Advocacy of RISE Loyola Sarah Flores ’28 (she/her) believes that SAGDAW decorating is a meaningful way to connect with the community.
“My favorite part of SAGDAW has been SAGDAW decor. This is my second year decorating campus, and it’s always so much fun to decorate the campus and understand the LGBTQ+ community here at Loyola,” Flores said.
Similarly, many students involved in organizing the SAGDAW events such as the Rainbow Ball, a trip to Red Emma’s Bookstore, and Club Car highlighted the sense of community created through this week’s programming and activities.
Alro Gibbens ’29 (he/him) talks about how these SAGDAW events allowed him to meet more people and find a campus community.
“My favorite part of SAGDAW is getting to set everything up because it has been so great to meet everyone and do those fun events together. I like being able to work on making everything happen,” Gibbens said.
Visibility and inclusion are essential themes of SAGDAW, especially for students who saw this week as an opportunity for empowerment and important conversations.
Flores emphasizes how important visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community is at Loyola.
“It’s important that we celebrate SAGDAW because visibility is so important on this campus. I think visibility and empowerment are so important right now, especially right now in this culture and in this colloquial environment,” Flores said.
Students have also emphasized the role SAGDAW plays in fostering a welcoming and inclusive community here on campus.
“SAGDAW creates a community that accepts everyone for who they are. It’s important to Loyola because the motto is caring for the whole person, and your sexual identity is part of being yourself,” Gibbons said.
As SAGDAW concluded, its impact remains rooted in fostering dialogue, allowing increased visibility and strengthening community at Loyola. This tradition at Loyola not only highlights the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students and faculty but also reinforces the university’s commitment to inclusion and the dignity of all people.
Those interested in learning more about Loyola’s LGBTQ+ history, and the evolution of SAGDAW, can find additional information here.