Noah Glasgow made history when he became the first openly gay man to be sworn in as speaker of the student senate last spring.
Despite feeling like the U.S. has a long way to go towards accepting the LGBTQIA+ community, Glasgow has never felt that anybody voted for him because of his identity. He said that the Carolina community has always been welcoming and embracing.
“I’ve never felt unsafe. I’ve never felt like I’ve been discriminated against on campus. I’ve never felt like I’ve needed to hide my identity,” Glasgow said. “The university has always been very welcoming — at least to queer folks.”
This is not the first time that a Student Government executive has been a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Zachery Scott was elected in 2004 as the first openly gay student body president.
Scott had been out to friends and family since his senior year of high school. Much like Glasgow, Scott said he felt like the student body and the university were welcoming of him. Despite a couple of fringe elements that caused trouble, everyone was accepting of his sexuality.
“Demographically, you would think that they would be opposed to an openly gay representative, and they weren’t,” Scott said. “They saw me for me, and I was very appreciative of it, and we advocated for protections for all students. And that was a message that resonated then as much as I think it does today."
During his time in Student Government, Scott prioritized protecting staff and students that were part of the LGBTQIA+ community so they could not be fired or denied housing because of how they identified.
“For the time, that was the insurmountable goal ... That was the end all, be all,” Scott said.
Scott said the sexual orientation protections policy took a long time to enact but was passed in 2003 when Scott was vice president. The policy ensured that the university and the community can have greater protections and an understanding of what can be possible to accomplish.
Glasgow is following in Scott’s footsteps by building upon that foundation. His office is currently working on enacting the It’s On Us initiative to combat interpersonal violence at USC and expand the knowledge of LGBTQIA+ resources on campus.
“We're trying to look specifically for queer resources. If you are a victim of — or a survivor, rather — of interpersonal violence, we're looking at how we can look at the disparities that exist between racial reporting when it comes to interpersonal violence and how we can bridge that divide,” Glasgow said.
The purpose of this initiative is to remedy the underreporting of interpersonal violence among women, men, the LGBTQIA+ community and heterosexual people alike. Glasgow said the initiative wants to help those who need to report to feel safe, comfortable and supported.
Student Body Vice President Maia Porzio said she works closely with Glasgow by sharing an office, collaborating on projects and learning from each other.
"Being able to work with (Glasgow) has been amazing ... he represents the community amazingly," Porzio said. "It's really cool to see the way that he advocates for all students on our campus in his position."
Because of this advocacy and work, Glasgow joins other trailblazers, like Scott, in advancing representation of the LGTBQIA+ community and paving the road for others by being the first.
“All of us, myself included, really came behind some real trailblazers,” Scott said. “The path that (Glasgow) is paving for other generations, where this isn’t even an issue at some point, it’s a huge milestone, a great accomplishment for him.”
Glasgow and the rest of the student senate are working toward helping the LGBTQIA+ community feel more accepted on campus through initiatives like the It's On Us campaign.
“Times have changed since 2004, 2005,” Glasgow said. “All three execs are firmly committed to the work of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.”
Glasgow, and the rest of Student Government, are building upon the foundation that Scott laid out, by introducing new LGBTQIA+ initiatives, like the self-expression closet for LGBTQIA+ individuals to express themselves with clothing of their choice, that would have been unthinkable at a time when it took a long time to pass the sexual orientations policy.
"For so long, we were told that who we were was shameful," Scott said. "So, what did we do? We didn't go away. We just created our own culture ... we have built a culture to protect ourselves and it's beautiful."
Since his time at USC, Scott was executive director of the Los Angeles Gay Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and was a part of the Peace Corps in Mozambique for three years. Now, Scott lives with his husband in Los Angeles and is the executive director of A Window Between Worlds, which is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering those impacted by trauma through a healing arts program. Through all of this, he still carries his experience at USC with him.
“I wish I was able to come back more often — go to games and visit the campus — but I will always speak fondly of my time at the University of South Carolina. And I’m incredibly proud to be a Gamecock,” Scott said. “When I hear stories about Noah, when I hear stories about how the students keep the issue of equality and inclusion going, it brings me great joy to know that that legacy is being passed on by this new generation.”