The San Diego State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Student Union is changing its name to Queer Student Union beginning next semester.

SDSU LGBTSU President Michael Manacop said the group could just keep adding letters to the name, but instead, it has decided to revamp it to include everyone, using the umbrella term “queer.”

“There are so many identities in the community that we would always leave a particular one out,” Manacop said. “So, the best way for us to solve that would be to have one term encompass all identities in the community.”

Manacop said the organization has noticed a campus change in atmosphere and environment.

Once the new Aztec Student Union completes construction, there will be an LGBT resource center located within the Cross-Cultural Center and Unity House. When the organization found out that it would be getting a permanent spot, Manacop said discussion began on what the name of the organization should be.

The organization was founded in 1975 as the Gay Student Union and the name has evolved since.

“We have seen our community’s name grow from the ‘gay community’ to the ‘gay and lesbian community,’ then the ‘LGBT community’ and so on,” QSU president-elect Thomas Negron said. “Most recently our acronym has been often listed as LGBTQQIAA and it’s still growing.”

As the future president of QSU, Negron said he thinks the word “queer” will be all-inclusive and will help shape the overall mission of the organization.

“Our organization primarily exists to provide a sense of community for the sexually disenfranchised students at SDSU,” Negron said. “We want all members of our community to feel, not only welcomed, but included and represented.”

Manacop said he understands people may still consider the word “queer” to be taboo or derogatory.

“‘Gay’ used to be used as a derogatory term, but now it’s a politically correct term,” Manacop said. “We need to embrace this term (queer) so everyone is comfortable to use it.”

Other California campuses, such as the University of California, Irvine have embraced the term “queer.” The Irvine Queers was founded in 1972. It’s comprised of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, ally and questioning students from UCI and the community.

Women’s studies professor and adviser for SDSU lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies Esther Rothblum said terms for this community are very generational.

“The name will keep changing. Twenty years from now, it’ll be something else, but for this generation it’s the term to use,” Rothblum said.