Access and Diversity Center spotlight: Love is for Everyone
The Love Is For Everyone club is the LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Asexual) club here on campus.
President of LIFE Jared Gheen said the club’s biggest focus this year was bringing awareness of the LGBT+ community to campus.
“Last year we averaged seven people per meeting and this year we’ve averaged 33 people per meeting,” Gheen said.
Gheen said their large increase in members has to do with moving their office location to the TSC, changing how the presidency operates and implementing fun activities with education or service every other week.
Gheen has been the president for the 2017-2018 academic school year, but didn’t know the club existed until he heard about it through friends.
Megan Albrechtsen President of the L.I.F.E. LGBTQA club, Jared Gheen, leads the meeting on Wedesnday, March 28th.
“It was an incredible experience because I could be who I was, I didn’t have to tell anyone how I identified or anything like that but everyone still accepted me for who I was,” Gheen said.
Andrew Collins is the treasurer of the LIFE club and is responsible to ensure they have enough money for activities and stay on budget.
Collins said the best part about being in the club is providing opportunities for people to come and be who they want to be, feel safe, feel comfortable and meet friends.
“Everyone is invited, it doesn’t matter if you’re a part of the community or not. It’s all about being friends, being comfortable, and respecting one another,” Collins said
Olivia Lee is the public relations specialist for the LIFE club and is in charge of all social media accounts and helps organize events.
“I really love this club because it’s where I really found friends,” Lee said
Lee said they’re changing LIFE’s name next year so it’s more inclusive to allies.
“We always get the question: are allies allowed here? And of course it’s yes, we always want more allies, we want more people to come and participate,” Lee said.
Lee said they’re thinking about changing the name to Queer Student Union (QSU).
Jaime Soule will be the president for the next 2018-2019 academic school year and said her goals are to bring the non-LGBT+ community and the LGBT+ community together.
Soule said the political atmosphere and polarization of ideas isn’t creating a safe campus outside of the Access and Diversity center.
Soule said one of her plans to bridge the gap between the two communities is through outspoken panels, which is a panel where the LIFE club hosts a panel to express their stories and answer questions from the audience.
Soule said her goal with this idea is, “to try to get people to understand that we don’t need to hate each other for our differences, even if we don’t agree with the differences.”
Megan Albrechtsen The L.I.F.E. LGBTQA club is one of comradery and full of amazing people who meet every week to share their experiences and come together.
Soule said another plan is to embrace diversity within the club.
“One of the problems within the club is that new people have come in and it’s kind of been dominated by mostly gay men or lesbian women. And there are people in the club who identify as asexual or aromantic or transgender individuals who feel marginalized in the club,” Soule said.
Soule said they haven’t determined how they will embrace the diversity in the club, but are working out ideas.
Gheen said the L.I.F.E club is the LGBT+ club here on campus, but allies and people of all different backgrounds and identifications are welcome to come.
“You don’t have to be part of the community to come, we really enjoy allies to be apart of it as well because they are an important part of advocacy and fighting for our rights,” Gheen said.
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