Brooke Freundschuh interviewed Alyssa Ledlow, a junior at the University of North Alabama. Ledlow is a music education major and is currently running to be an Student Government Assocation (SGA) senator for the College of Education and Human Sciences.

Freundschuh: Have you been involved in SGA previously?
Ledlow: I have not actually. I was referred by Dr. Hunt over at the Mitchell West Center for Social Inclusion.

Freundschuh: Why are you running to be a senator?
Ledlow: I’m wanting to promote inclusion on campus, so LGBTQ students and minority groups like Global Lions. I’m wanting them to feel more included, because a lot of us feel a little bit excluded because we’re considered different.

Freundschuh: What can students count on you for if you are elected?
Ledlow: They can count on me to make a lot more opportunities for the minority groups. I know we do feel excluded and like we can’t go to certain events because of who we are and some of us for who we love. I would make a lot more opportunities for students on campus.

Freundschuh: You’re also a member of The Marching Pride. Do you think that having a band representative on senate will make a difference in the campus community?
Ledlow: I would say yes. I’m very passionate about music. Being in The Marching Pride has taught me discipline. It makes me more reliable.

Freundschuh: Why do you advocate so strongly for the LGBTQ+ community?
Ledlow: My family is very Christian. I come from a very Christian home. I’ve been treated a little bit harshly by my mother because of how she feels towards LGBTQ people. She cut me off for a little bit when I first came out, and she called me an embarrassment. A lot of us deal with that kind of treatment at home and in the community. I’ve been called different homosexual slurs across campus and my professors have treated me differently, so I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen for other people.

Freundschuh: Has the current state of SGA made it feel important for you to run?
Ledlow: I want to run to get an LGBTQ representative in SGA so that way we can have a voice. With the Jake Statom statement, he made on his Instagram, a lot of our students were hurt, including me. I understand that mistakes happen, as long as we learn from them. I do feel we need more representation in SGA to help prevent these kinds of things from happening again.

Freundschuh: Why should students vote for you?
Ledlow: If you’re wanting to see a more inclusive campus, if you feel like it needs to improve in those areas, definitely vote for me. If you
feel like we’re fine in those areas, I would say vote for me. I’m wanting to schedule a lot of LGBTQ based events, where we feel like we are included. If I’m dating a girl I want to be able to hold her hand in public without being stared at. I don’t want people calling me the F slur across campus, because that’s happened. I want people to see me as the same as someone who is heterosexual.

Ledlow encourages any minority students who are struggling to email her at [email protected] to let her know how she can support them and best represent them.