Queer Student Union holds Open House

By Cameron Rogers

Hood’s Queer Student Union held an open house and its first meeting for the spring semester on January 27.

Queer Student Union, or QSU, is a club that reaches out to the LGBT community at Hood College, and offers support to students that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The open house occurred on a Tuesday night.

Alana Thomas, a sophomore at Hood and a member of QSU, said that their goals for the spring semester are “To reach out to the LGBT community and raise awareness of problems affecting it.”

The open house lasted for approximately 45 minutes. Present at the meeting were both LGBT students and students supporting their close friends, though most of the attendees were already members of QSU.

Group activities and discussions were held, and food and drinks were provided.

Once the open house started, members and guests introduced themselves and wrote what their reason for being present was on a large sheet of paper. A discussion was held two-thirds of the way through the open house about what the group should do for Valentine’s Day.

“Hood’s a pretty open campus,” Virginia Dunkley, the group’s treasurer and a sophomore, said. “We’re trying to raise awareness for LGBT students on campus.”

Adding on to what Virginia said, Rena Levine, a sophomore and the group’s secretary, said, “The good thing about Hood is that it’s already open.”

A follow-up meeting occurred the proceeding week, with the topic of the night being slang related to the LGBT community.

Queer Student Union holds meetings every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Marx Center.