If you’re frolicking around campus, looking for resources or opportunities to connect with other queer students at UO, the LGBTQA3 Alliance is the place to be.
UO’s LGBTQA3 has been bringing queer students together since 1969 and is the oldest LGBTQIA+ student-led organization on campus. Today, the student coordinators leading this year are excited to serve the queer community and welcome in more dazzling faces.
The LGBTQA3 is a space to land for many incoming queer students who have questions about where to find LGBTQIA+ resources or other support services on campus or broader Eugene and how to navigate them. Elsa Spaulding, the QA3’s education and activism coordinator, said students are welcome to come into the center and ask any questions they might have.
“We have a lot of queer students just walk into our office [and] say, ‘Hey, I’m queer; I’m here. I’m facing this problem. I don’t know how to fix it. Can you put me in the right direction? Or can you be the first point of contact to start this process,’” Spaulding said.
The LGBTQA3 student coordinators are available to guide students to a multitude of resources the UO offers from medical and mental health services, gender affirming support, to groups in Eugene like TransPonder, a local nonprofit that supports transgender and gender diverse people.
“Even just in this past week, I’ve had people coming in asking about starting estrogen, trying to find a new binder, trying to change their name on all their school documents,” Spaulding said. “So these are all logistical things that no one necessarily tells you how to do, where you might know that the resources are at school, but you might not know how to find them.”
If you’re looking to join up with other queer people on campus, the LGBTQA3 has heaps of events planned to introduce new students or those who haven’t connected with the community before.
“A lot of the people who come to the meetings are underclassmen, and it’s their first time being away from home and being out of their parents’ house and being themselves to an extent,” Sisi Husing, the QA3’s small event coordinator, said. “Creating a space where people who are coming into themselves feel safe and comfortable is really important.”
Be sure to let everyone know you’re booked for Oct. 3 from 6 to 7 p.m. for the alliance’s first meeting of the school year in the EMU. These general meetings are held every Tuesday in the Lease Crutcher Lewis room.
Spaulding expressed they want to incorporate more queer history into general meetings to educate students who might not have been able to learn about the community in a safe space.
“I think that what makes me excited is the opportunity to not only validate members of our community, but also show them that we’ve always been here, and we’ve been fighting for our well being and the continued improvement of our circumstances,” Spaulding said.
Aside from general meetings, the LGBTQA3 hosts different identity subgroup meetings, including Queer Trans and Intersex Students of Color, the Lesbian Legion and more. Husing and sophomore and large events coordinator Mariana Marquez lead the Lesbian Legion, which they started winter of this past year. The Legion meets every Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. .
Additionally, the LGBTQA3 is currently hiring for student leadership positions and encourage anyone interested to apply. The alliance is looking for an outreach coordinator, which manages the QA3’s social media platforms and facilitates collaboration with other clubs on campus, Spaulding said.
This year, the center is also reintroducing internship positions that allow for queer students to gain upper division college credits and leadership experience. They are looking to hire multiple candidates interested in community building and facilitating events centered on queerness.
“I really want our interns to feel like they are getting the kind of experience that they want out of this position,” Spaulding said. “Because of that, I’m willing to be pretty flexible about what duties are. Or, if anybody has a project that they would really love to see the QA3 use some of its funding to contribute to or to follow through on, I would love to have an intern who has big, big ambitions for the QA3 and is willing to take that on,” Spaulding said.
Marquez shared how she has grown from her leadership position after deciding to go for it on a whim her freshman year.
“I feel like in the beginning, I was really timid and shy. And I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be able to do this.’ But now this year, I’m like, ‘No, I got this. I’m gonna be just fine,’” Marquez said. “Plus, having the moral support of my staff members and also being friends with each other helps a lot. We’re able to bounce off each other and say ‘Hey, can you take this off my plate,’ or vice versa, and it’s really nice, having that bond with each other.”
Husing also explained how their involvement with the QA3 in the past year has better connected them with their queerness and to other people who are welcoming and understanding.
“I think the last year has really helped me become comfortable with being queer,” Husing said. “I am [from] a small town. Ever since I showed up here, I feel like it’s been the first time I’ve been around people who I didn’t have to constantly over explain my situation to them –– or I didn’t feel like I was being asked invasive questions. The people I’ve met, they automatically knew where I was at.”
As this fall term begins, the QA3 is looking forward to connecting incoming students to all it has to offer. This October, the coordinators are discussing potential ideas for queer Halloween events and will be releasing more information about when all of the identity subgroups will be meeting this term.
To find more information regarding applications for the 2022-2023 leadership positions and club meeting details, follow the LGBTQA3 center Instagram at @lgbtqa3. If you want to check out the center in person, it is located in the EMU on the first floor and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
