Monday, October 25, 2010

Queer Resource Center





























I had heard of the Queer Resource Center, but only very vaguely. I looked it up and found out that it was on the 4th floor of the Smith Student Union. When I walked in, a guy named Glen, who I had known previously for being my Resident Life assistant on my floor, was volunteering at the desk. He is one of the friendliest guys I've ever met, and automatically asked if I wanted a tour. He started off my showing me the wall of pamphlets and resources, along with free condoms, lubricants etc. Then he showed me the staff offices, (none of them were in), and the lounge area. The lounge area had a wall of books to check out, a t.v., and lots of couches. I then proceeded to ask Glen how the Queer Resource Center came to be. He said that is started as just a small sort of "club", and has grown ever since. It was started by Grad students. I asked him what kind of services they offer, and he listen off a lot. Those included helping people come out to their parents/friends/etc, giving them resources if theyre dealing with domestic violence, any sorts of counseling/just someone to talk to. I asked him about other people that work there, and he said that it is mostly grad students and volunteers, but there is also full time staff. This confused me because I couldnt figure out what a full time staff member would do that the volunteers wouldnt? But I guess they just coordinate events, like some sort of party they had during Coming Out Week. I would have like to talk to a full time staff member but none were in. Glen told me he had been volunteering at the Queer Resource Center ever since he came to PSU (last year). I told Glen that I had never heard of it before, and that I felt that High School students should be told that PSU offers this, because it seems like a place that queer high school students would want to know about. He agreed and said that theyre trying to promote it more and talk to more High School students. I told him that I planned on coming back later today to take pictures and he was happy about that.

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