A belated welcome back to campus, Queer Coalition!
I hope those of you who were able to join us for our summer programming found strength in community, restoration in togetherness, and most importantly, had a good time! While our Pride Picnic and Welcome Back Coffee have emerged as traditional bookends to the summer season, my favorite activity was actually our Saturday morning hike at COMLARA Park – I loved hunting down weird mushrooms and trying to identify native plants with my trans sibs (and Athena, a 100-lb Burmese Mountain Dog); it felt almost like the idyllic rural boyhood I read about in storybooks as a child.
As the new semester arrived, we welcomed three new members to the QC Executive Board: Brigid Aslin (co-president), David Giovagnoli (member-at-large), and Justin Lawson (treasurer). I am so grateful for their service and humbled by their efficiency and incisiveness. With them lending their support to the board’s team efforts we have launched a number of new initiatives and programs recently, including:
- A remodeled website
- Opening Executive Board meetings to all QC members
- A mentorship pilot program to connect faculty, staff, and grad students who have worked through their own coming out processes with undergrad or grad students in need of advice and support navigating the vagaries of life as queer adults
- A combined Queer Coalition/Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Queer Talks Lunch ‘n’ Learn series, beginning with the Fighting Florida’s Stop WOKE Act webinar at on October 6th. A presentation from Brigid Aslin and Samantha Vazquez on recent anti-trans legislation is also in the works for November 7th!
- The return of our ever-popular Brown Bag Chats on the first Friday of the month in the Bone Student Center’s Faculty/Staff Lounge
Hello Queer Coalition!
I am incredibly excited to serve as co-president of Queer Coalition this year and to work with this year’s executive board and all of our members to make ISU a better place for the LGBT community. In the past two months since I was appointed, I’ve learned so much about the history of this group and I can’t wait to continue the incredible work that we’ve been doing. A huge thanks to the executive board, especially Karmine, for welcoming me to the board with open arms and catching me up to speed. The executive board this year has a lot of great ideas and plans for this year, and I can’t wait to share them all with you. See Karmine’s letter for more information on what we’ve been working on so far!
One of the things I am most looking forward to this year is building relationships across campus, whether that is with fellow members of QC, students, administration, or community members. I am excited to develop programs that raise awareness, promote acceptance, and foster a sense of belonging for every member of the LGBT community at Illinois State. We are stronger together, and I cannot wait to see all that we achieve this year.
Even just a month into this role, I know this is going to be an amazing year for Queer Coalition. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone in the near future and hope to see folks at upcoming programs!