A big campus is daunting. It can be even more intimidating when you don’t have a community to turn to. As of this semester, Queer Connections is providing a space for Colorado State University students who identify as LGBT+. to feel safe and supported.
Queer Connections is a new student organization that meets every other Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Pride Resource Center. The organization is “a group that focuses on navigating personal, professional and social aspects of day-to-day life. All trans, queer, and questioning folks are welcome.”
Because this is the organization’s first semester, their activities will be determined by the students who are part of it.
“It’s mostly going to be discussion-based,” said Angelise Guerrero,a sophomore health and exercise science major who co-facilitates Queer Connections alongside V Bellinger. “We want to make this a space where you can come to talk about queer issues and also not queer issues. Just be yourself, make friends (and) build community.”
Assistant Director for the PRC, Emily Ambrose, said students comfortability is at the forefront of this organization’s intentions.
“I hope that students are able to be their whole self,” Ambrose said. “And it is a place and space for social gathering, learning from one another and community connections. It’s really important to have places to consistently go to that makes the campus feel smaller.”
“We’re really committed to students feeling comfortable in all of their identities, really focusing on topics which weave in multiple identities and experiences.”- Emily Ambrose
Guerrero said Queer Connections is an expansion of the PRC’s first year mentor program.
“Last semester, we had a first year student network, and we wanted to open it up (and) make it not just first years,” Guerrero said.”So it’s a space that’s not like the other student orgs where you have to identify within a certain intersectionality or identity. It’s a place where you can go to just talk about things.”
Queer Connections is also an opportunity to make the PRC more accessible, Ambrose said.
“We want to always be committed to something where you can just drop into,” Ambrose said. “It can feel daunting to just come and hang out if you’re not super familiar. If you need to wait for an event two months from now or you’re not feeling confident enough to go to a student org by yourself, wanting to have a space where you can just drop into and feel welcomed is really important.”
Queer Connections
Wednesdays 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Pride Resource Center
Ultimately, Ambrose said, the new group is for anyone trans, queer or questioning designed with students and community in mind.
“We’re really committed to students feeling comfortable in all of their identities, really focusing on topics which weave in multiple identities and experiences,” Ambrose said.
Collegian reporter Maddie Wright can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @maddierwright.
