The Queer Students Union (QSU) at Gonzaga University is a cultural club dedicated to creating a community for queer GU students and their peers to celebrate and explore queer culture.
With an all-new leadership board, one of our goals for this year’s QSU is to increase engagement and presence. One of the ways they do this is by becoming part of GU’s Unity Alliance of Cultural Clubs (UACC) and working closely with other cultural clubs by working with these clubs to organize larger events. That’s it.
At the beginning of the semester, QSU participates in both a club fair and a UACC potluck to bring the Cultural Club and its members to Foley Lawn in hopes of making meaningful connections and fostering the sense of community that the GU Club aspires to be. Collected.
QSU club president Juliana Peterson, a sophomore, says she found a place in the community through QSU just two years into her membership. She never expected to be elected president, but QSU has allowed her to come out of her shell and she hopes to give others that experience as well.
“I hope [club members] “They don’t have to come a certain way,” Peterson said. “I want them to have a space to enjoy themselves.”
QSU Treasurer Faith Watkins and Vice President Olivia Jennings also agreed.
“I hope [club members] Take the chance to find what we’ve found: friendship and community and opportunity,” said Watkins.
Jennings did not initially join and did not have many expectations for the club at first.
“I realized what a great community it is,” Jennings said. People will accept you just by being there.”
Primarily a social club, QSU has struggled to keep member engagement as high as possible during the pandemic.
“Zoom meetings don’t work in this club…our club is for people to come together, talk to each other and have a good time,” Peterson said.
But now that meetings are back in person, executives are mapping out presentations and events. We hope this will bring people back into the club and rebuild the community they aspire to.
“We do presentations on certain aspects of the intersex community, or the queer community. We also do presentations on the concept of coming out and historical legal matters,” Watkins said. says. “And we will have more fun presentations about fashion and queer representation in media and dragons.”
Peterson said club members are welcome to make presentations about things they want to talk about or call attention to. I hope to encourage you.
In addition to the weekly meetings, executives highlighted QSU’s two big events this year: the UACC Fashion Show in early December and the QSU Drag Show in February.
Jennings also promotes events held by the Lincoln LGBTQ+ Resource Center, and said officers work to let club members know that Lincoln Center resources and staff support them at an organizational level. I was.
“Lincoln Center is a Gonzaga organization and QSU is a student-run club,” Jennings said.
Peterson emphasized the club’s focus on small social gatherings and community building where queer students can be themselves and make friends who understand them.
“I see us as a place, not an obligation,” Peterson said.
Watkins added that QSU has this type of opportunity available to those interested.
Those interested in joining are welcome to join at any time during the semester, Watkins said, and weekly attendance does not require being a member of the club.
“You can attend any meeting. I think some people are scared of missing the first meeting and thinking they won’t be able to attend after that, but that’s not the case,” says Watkins.
The meetings are relaxed and community-focused.
“We always introduce names and pronouns and ask random icebreaker questions … to know if someone wants to be a dragon or a wizard like the really important thing,” Peterson said. rice field.
The club meets on Monday nights at 6pm. You can find out more about QSU on Zagtivities or in his direct message from @qsugonzaga on Instagram.
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