The Glasgow University LGBTQ+ society have been crowned Student Group of the Year at an awards ceremony attended by the First Minister and a host of familiar names from politics and entertainment.
The Scottish LGBTI awards are organised by the Equality Network. a group who exist to “[promote] lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality and rights across Scotland”. GULGBTQ+ are among the largest societies on campus, with a history dating back over four decades. The society organise a variety of social, welfare and campaign events throughout the year primarily targeted at LGBTQ+ individuals.
President of GULGBTQ+, Megan Snedden, welcomed the award as recognition of the society’s activity: “From hosting big parties such as Launch Night, to arranging welfare coffee meet-ups, to raising thousands of pounds for charity, GULGBTQ+ caters to all and manages to engage a lot of students at – and out with – the university. I think this variety is probably what sets us out from the rest and makes us best society of our kind in Scotland. We also have specific officers in charge of the welfare of different gender, sexual, and romantic identities, making students feel more at home within our society and giving them the social support that would be difficult to find elsewhere.”
“The event itself was fantastic – a real celebration of LGBTQ+ people in Scotland. I think we all went through a lot of emotions that night, from the nerve-wracking few hours before our award was announced, to sheer elation and pride at being crowned winners. Going up to accept the award – with the rest of the committee linking arms and shedding a few tears behind me – was a real special moment for me, and is something that I will never forget. (However, the whole event was overshadowed by the excitement of Karen Dunbar following us on Twitter!)”
The awards were held in the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow, with over four hundred people in attendance. All awards and nominations were voted on by the public, with categories including Community Group of the Year, Equality Initiative of the Year and the Sports Award.
GULGBTQ+ fought off competition from BLOGS (of Edinburgh University), Saints LGBT (of St Andrews University) and the Vale of Leven Academy LGBT Committee.
