2023 Election Results

From the president elect, Karmine Beecroft

I had only been at ISU a few months when Dave Bentlin, Barb Dallinger, Liv Stone, and Gavin Weiser first moved to begin reimagining the largely dormant Triangle Association in the wake of the closure of the LGBT/Queer Studies and Services Institute in late 2019. The locus of what would come to be our very own Queer Coalition grew out of a happy hour get-together at the Marriott bar in Uptown Normal in February 2020. I remember meeting so many new queer folks from across the university and breathing a sigh of relief to have finally found my people. Then – COVID hit. Our plans were put on hold for six months and by the time the group began meeting again to formulate our Constitution, our numbers had been much reduced.

Two and a half years later, Queer Coalition’s membership stands at 191. We have established annual traditions such as our Pride Picnic in June and Transgender Day of Visibility Sashay in March, staged listening circles for our members’ voices to be heard, and negotiated many issues arising with partners across campus. This visibility and strength in numbers has allowed us to advocate for change at the highest levels, as well as create a much-needed community for ISU’s LGBTQIA+ staff, graduate students, and faculty in these troubling times.

Looking ahead to what 2023 and 2024 will bring, there’s no doubt that we will need our community around us. The QC Executive Board is dedicated to providing responsive, engaged, and proactive service to and on behalf of our constituency within an anti-racist and coalition building framework. Please join us in helping Queer Coalition grow and thrive so that we can leverage our collective strength on behalf of the most vulnerable amongst us while building a united coalition that celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of LGBTQIA+ people on campus and beyond.