Upcoming Event: GMC Pride Club's Pride Ball!
Come dress up, enjoy snacks, good music, play games and get your gay on! The school’s LGBTQ organization, Pride Club, will be throwing a ball on the evening of December 15th from 8-12pm. While there will be plenty of vegan-friendly snacks, games to play, and music to dance the night away to, resources and information on LGBTQ and sexual health will also be available. This year’s theme is pride flags, and we encourage others to wear the colors of their respective flag (if you identify with one). Although it is being held by involved queer students, this event is for everyone. Often straight and/or cisgender people hesitate to participate in activities associated with the LGBTQ community, and while there are some spaces that are designed to be specifically for queer people, Pride Ball is an opportunity to close the gap, get comfortable with the community and possibly learn more about gender, sexuality, queer history and sexual health.
“People in the LGBTQ community are just people like you, you know? Allies and straight people shouldn’t be afraid of us. We want people straight or maybe questioning people to learn, have fun and feel safe to ask questions,” Pride President, Erica Kuenzler, tells me. As she is graduating this semester, she hopes that the Ball will help build a bigger future for the club and GMC queer community overall. Starting in the spring semester, the club plans to connect with Lee High School students who may not have access to a support network or inclusive sex education.
“I want younger students to feel safe with us as well as college students. People are suffering from a lack of support at all ages, and we want to give the support they may not be getting at home,” Erica explains. Pride also plans to go on more trips to community events like pride parades, live performances, educational events and volunteer service.
Pride Club meets on Mondays at 8PM in the Moses writer’s lounge. Meetings typically last an hour and include activities like making campus flyers, games, trips to LGBTQ community events, TV/film viewings, planning events and discussions on queer topics. Everyone is welcome to come to a meeting whether seeking information, attending an event, questioning their own orientation or gender, or simply wanting to know more about the queer experience and community.