Colorful lights dance along the walls. A large dance floor spans the ballroom, and attendees clad in their best dresses, tuxedos and costumes enter the venue.

This experience may sound similar to a prom or other themed dance you attended while in high school, but there is one notable difference.

This is the Georgia Southern Gay-Straight Alliance’s annual Pride Prom. The campus GSA teamed up with Health Services and the Multicultural Student Center (the MSC) to host an “Alice in Wonderland” themed Pride Prom.

This Pride Prom was a first for many of the GS students who may not have had the opportunity to fully express themselves before.

“It’s the first pride prom I’ve ever been to. I recently came out as transgender. It’s always been my dream to go to prom, and this is just an amazing experience for me,” Kinsey Myers, a junior software engineering major, said. “I feel so accepted and loved here, like I can be who I want and who I am and not feel judged.”

The prom was also a first for students and attendees new to the Statesboro area because it gave them a chance to network with others.

“It’s been pretty great. One of the reasons I think I’m doing so well right now is because of the GSA…because I’m not very social. This [event] is kind of making me be more social and allowing me to be okay with myself,” Nix Powell, a freshman business management major said.

Students were not the only ones celebrating at Pride Prom. Byron Anthony Green, the Resident Director for Eagle Village, attended the event.

“I identify as part of the LGBT community, and I think it’s very important for not only my students [at Eagle Village] to see me out at events like this, but [for me to] recognize myself that I’m a very proud member of the GSM [Gender Sexual Minority], so that they will feel the same pride,” Green said.

Overall, the Pride Prom seemed to be a place where GS students and employees could freely express themselves, whether that be by donning a Halloween costume or by busting out some moves on the dance floor. It is one of the many events in which GSA is involved in around campus.

For more information about GSA’s upcoming events, you can check out their social media accounts.