The annual Queer Spring Fling, organized by the LGBTQ Resource Center, was held Thursday night to welcome students back from break.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Resource Center, formerly housed in the Center for Social Justice, has had its own location in the lower level of the MU Student Center for a year.
Queer Spring Fling is held at the start of each spring semester, and the Fall Fling introduces students to the center at the beginning of the school year. Both events provide food, games and fun to create a friendly environment where everyone can feel welcome.
“Seeing new people is great at this event,” said junior Taylor Dukes, an LGBTQ Resource Center volunteer. “A lot of people don’t have time every week to make commitments to all their organizations. It’s great that at least one night everyone can make time out of their schedules to come together.”
The center’s most important mission is to provide a welcoming place for students, while also creating a safe haven for people looking for acceptance.
“My favorite part of the event is community bonding,” Triangle Coalition President Emily Colvin said. “I love seeing people meet new friends that last their whole entire college experience.”
Each year, the center works to improve the event from the year before to raise awareness about its resources and hopefully attract more people. By adding more signage and instructions during the event, MU LGBTQ Resource Center Coordinator Struby Struble hopes to inform and create a better sense of knowledge about the event for students.
“There’s always been a great turnout, but sometimes people didn’t know what to do, and it could look like an intimidating social situation with a room stuffed full of people,” Struble said. “With the addition of signs, (students) are more likely to participate in something like playing a board game with strangers.”
The center provides many different organizations for students to help everyone find what they are most comfortable with. Some examples include a weekly discussion group called Inside Out, an outreach program that trains students to become panelists at events and talk about their experience coming out, and the student group Triangle Coalition.
“Triangle Coalition derives its name from community, advocacy and education,” Colvin said. “We bring speakers to campus and organize events to make a community for everyone while educating at the same time.”
Struble said a good portion of people in the LGBTQ community do not have a great relationship with their families. The center hopes the event will give students the acceptance and community feeling they missed while becoming home for winter break.
“Going home for a break can be a very tough and emotional experience,” Struble said. “Some students aren’t welcome to be themselves, even if they have come out, and some students aren’t welcome at home at all. This event can hopefully be a positive homecoming back to Mizzou, to show that this campus is a place who loves and welcomes all Tigers, no matter what.”
