Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen ventured into uncharted territory at Iowa State when she decided to serve as the first straight president of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance.

Beatty-Hansen said people are sometimes a little surprised when they discover she is a straight ally member of the LGBTAA.

“Usually, I don’t think it’s a very big deal,” said Beatty-Hansen, junior in political science. “I haven’t had many negative reactions at all.”

Todd Herriott, adviser to the LGBTAA, said about 10 to 15 percent of the organization’s members are allies.

“Never having an ally president made us sort of rethink our own openness to diversity,” said Herriott, program coordinator for the Dean of Students Office. “She really opened the door for people to see how they could become involved.”

Herriott said Beatty-Hansen challenges people to see the wealth of support for the LGBT community at Iowa State.

“People might at first ask themselves, `But why is a straight girl head of the LGBTAA?’ ” Herriott said. “In many ways, she has broken ground for a lot of people by thinking outside of the box.”

Beatty-Hansen said she has always been sensitive to gay rights, but her interest escalated when a family member confided to her that he was gay.

She became involved with the LGBTAA in the fall of 2000, her first year at Iowa State. Beatty-Hansen was elected president of the organization last spring.

Beatty-Hansen is modest, unassuming and “very approachable,” Herriott said.

“She’s a really easy person to talk to,” Herriott said. “Most people feel put at ease.”

Beatty-Hansen said there are several misconceptions about the LGBTAA on the ISU campus that she wants to change.

“The biggest misconception is that we are too cliquey, or that we cater to just white gay males,” Beatty-Hansen said. “That’s what we’re trying to change, but it’s kind of a slow process.”

She said the organization has tried to make meetings more open to everyone by having topics and presentations that are interesting to a number of people.

“We’re trying to integrate the alliance so it reaches out to more people in the LGBTAA community,” Beatty-Hansen said. “We try to have meeting topics that will interest different people in the community.”

Beatty-Hansen said she has been preparing this year’s Awareness Days and encourages everyone to attend.

“Apart from being fun and educational, there are some really important issues to be addressed,” Beatty-Hansen said.