EIU Pride provides a safe space for students in the LGBTQ+ community to gather and create a sense of connection with other attendees at the meetings the club holds every Monday at 7 p.m.
The group meetings are held in the Center of Gender and Sexual Diversity on the lower level of Stevenson Hall. The board members of the group wants students who are interested in the club to know that if they are having problems on campus, they should not be afraid to go to them. They will always be an advocate for students on campus.
Pride held their first meeting on Sept. 11. The club participated in a board game night for this meeting, which consisted of the members presenting a small informative presentation and then breaking out into groups to play fun games.
The meeting was ran by the president of the club, Lucy Ade. Ade has participated in the group since her sophomore year and served as the group’s vice president from 2022 to 2023. Her friends convinced her to run for the vice president position and she stated that she is happy she decided to trust them. She will remain president until 2024.
When asked what impact she wants to make on students in the LGBTQ+ community, Ade stated, “There’s a lot of things I want to make an impact on! One impact I think I have already made is being Eastern’s first transgender student body president, something I am very proud that I got to do! I want to give students a space where they can casually hang out and make new friends!”
Assisting Lucy with the meeting was Theo Edwards. Edwards has participated in the group for three years and currently holds the titles of Secretary and Treasurer for Pride. They are also a grad assistant and, in their three years with the group, have made sure to provide a supportive relationship with their participants. They are really looking forward to more people hopefully getting involved this year.
“Coming from a small town, I want to make sure that there is a space where people can freely express themselves on campus,” Edwards expressed. “Even though the campus itself is improving, it is still nice to have one space where you are guaranteed a safe haven.”
Students who participated in the meeting had a blast while they joined together in playing ‘Jackbox,’ which is a party game-making studio that has tons of mini-games that a large group can play together. There were a couple of other board games being played, such as ‘New Phone who Dis’ and ‘What Do You Meme.’
Matty Koester, a senior majoring in clinical laboratory science, said that this was the third meeting that they have attended through Pride. Koester said that the meetings have helped them find themself and allowed them to make more friends.
Everyone at these meetings is open and allows everyone to be themselves. Do not be afraid to show up to meetings. The group plans to hold a trivia night at their next meeting on Sept. 18, to celebrate Bi-visibility Week!
Jacob Adcock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
