Sexuality and Gender Alliance launched its big-little program

The Sexuality and Gender Alliance introduced a little program to their club this year, but members hope it will have a big impact.

Experienced SAGA members are now pairing up with freshmen in big-little relationships to help integrate freshmen into the LGBTQ community at UNC.

“Acclimating to being a first-year and being a part of the queer community, we wanted to help with that transition,” SAGA President Lauren Martin said.

Martin said she was looking for non-freshmen or first-year transfers who are well connected to the queer community at UNC to take on the role of bigs. This could be through SAGA or other activist communities, or by being a major or minor in sexuality studies.

The process of pairing bigs and littles began two weeks ago with a series of programs and events allowing the members of SAGA to get to know each other in casual settings. Members could attend as many or as few events as they wanted.

“It was actually a lot of fun,” freshman Kiralina Soare said. “One was a scavenger hunt that was fun with games and another was essentially like speed dating.”

The events were meant to allow freshmen to get to know the older members of SAGA so that by the end of the week they were able to pick out a big who seemed compatible with them.

Members were paired first by preference of the littles, then by similarities in interests, majors and career and life goals.

Martin said the LGBTQ community at UNC is spread out, which can make it difficult for younger students to find their places in it.

Soare said she is looking for a close LGBTQ community.

“In high school I had a pretty close-knit queer community and it was really important for me coming out, having that safe space,” Soare said. “So I wanted to recreate that in college.”

Martin said the goal of the program is to bring the network together and lessen the disconnect between the new and experienced members of UNC’s queer community.

“First and foremost, bigs should act as a resource for their little and get to know them on a very personal level and be there when they need them,” Martin said.

She said she hopes bigs will act as mentors and support systems for their littles throughout life changes such as choosing a major, applying to jobs or coming out. Bigs are expected to spend time with their littles at least once a week. Soare and her big have already gotten lunch together.

Both Soare and Danielle Bruce, a freshman SAGA member, are excited about the big-little program. Soare and Bruce said they are looking forward to having a friend who is able to help them adjust to life on campus.

“I thought it was a really cool process,” Bruce said. “I am excited to have a friend who can answer all my questions.”

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