In my time here at Drew, I have felt safe and welcomed existing as my authentic self. I found Queer peers, courses that incorporate the voices of Queer authors and celebration of Queerness. However, upon my return to campus this year I have noticed an unnameable disconnect that has settled onto Queer community life. Following the graduation of a large body of dedicated student leaders accompanied by major budget cuts, the number of Queer events has diminished and attendance at events has been sparse. However, the vacuum left by graduates and financial constraints should not be enough to diminish the vibrancy of Drew’s Queer community. Finding a way to celebrate Queerness can be done on a dime if students of the Queer community show up authentically and collectively embrace the mission of creating the Queer culture they want to see.
During my junior year of high school, my guidance counselor waltzed into my study hall and slipped me a sheet of paper. It happened to be a list of “The Colleges and Universities Where LGBT Students Feel the Safest” (it was an old list—pre-1990s if my hunch is correct). Seventh from the top and circled in bright purple ink was the name of Drew University. You see, she knew two things—firstly, she knew that I had just gotten back from my trip east to visit Drew and secondly, she knew that I was openly Queer. She was committed to helping me choose a safe place to pursue my education.
When I made my way east to visit Drew, I arrived at the perfect time. During my campus visit my tour guide led me through the Ehinger Center, which was decorated for the annual campus-wide “Queering the Forest,” complete with a rainbow balloon arch, pride flags and posters for sex-toy bingo. It was the perfect invitation for a young Queer kid looking for a campus community that would not only be accepting and safe, but would embrace and celebrate the Queer experience. My visit took place prior to the global pandemic that fractured social scenes and strained the economy. Drew, like other universities, struggled through a return to tradition and routine.
Upon a return to campus, programs to celebrate and support Queer students started back up. In the fall of 2021, Queering the Forest returned with in-person events. By 2022, a thriving week of programming was put in place by a dedicated group of student leaders, student government members, Student Activities and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Office. Events such as Drag Bingo, Drew’s first Queer Prom, LGBTQ+ history walking tours in NYC, Queer trivia in the Pub, discussions hosted by Queer@Drew and a Queer Clothing Swap in the Space filled a jam-packed week of good gay fun. Outside of Queering the Forest, Drew offered a Queer mentoring program to connect new students with upperclassmen to help facilitate a smooth transition to college life, and a robust Sexuality and Gender Alliance offered weekly meetings and held annual vigils for Transgender Day of Remembrance.
This year, Queer programming is dying on the vine. A financial squeeze makes it difficult to host robust programming, several pro-staff dedicated to hosting traditional events have left their positions, and an amazingly inspired cohort of Queer student leaders left Drew in May to pursue the rest of their life. While these factors make it difficult to foster a seamless transition into another year of robust Queer-focused programs, they are not excuses.
Drew students who crave finding Queer space have a more difficult task than in years past, but not an impossible one. I have been privy to more than one conversation in which peers have expressed that they feel alone in their Queerness on campus. Whether frustrated with being perceived as straight by their Queer counterparts or growing weary from being unsure of how to initiate Queer connections, students are struggling to find others who understand their experience. Overall, this inability to find an accessible community is detrimental to students’ quality of life and enjoyment of their Drew experience.
I have a few ideas about solutions that can be implemented—but be warned that they do depend on a bit of heavy lifting and commitment.
To begin, student leaders in collaboration with administrative bodies should work to host events that cater to the Queer community, especially for Queering the Forest. Such collaboration would ensure a wider body of available resources and would aid in re-instilling Queer traditions in Drew’s culture.
Secondly, students need to show up. Queer Prom, held to kick off this year’s Queering the Forest, was poorly attended. I promise that you are not too cool to show up and dance. In fact, I guarantee that you would feel way cooler if you could look back on your college days and tell stories about all the cool Queer events you attended. If students continue to hold an apathetic attitude about Queer programming, such events will cease to be hosted.
Lastly, students and administration need to find ways to hold programs that cost little to no money. Events such as clothing swaps, Queer trivia nights in the pub, Queer dance parties in the Space, collective crafting nights, LBGTQ+ book clubs, a campus pride parade, Queer alumni/student mixers, Queer teach-ins across academic fields, trans-positivity swims, Progress flag raisings for coming out week or vigils for days of Transgender Remembrance can all be held on slim budgets. If advertised as places for the Queer community, students who feel they are lacking places to meet other Queer students can take the opportunity to make new connections and expand their support networks. If these events are advertised, and if students take on the responsibility of showing up, the Queer community here at Drew just might have a chance at a brilliant resurgence.
I hope that such commitment does not steer students away, because we all need to do our part to foster our community.
On the whole, Drew does a fairly good job of supporting its Queer students. Drew’s Office of Residence Life has made gender-neutral housing a possibility, installed gender diversity statements outside bathroom doors and made the process of changing names on IDs and Gmail accounts accessible. Drew’s classrooms play host to lectures about Queer films and history. Students of a diverse range of sexual orientations and gender identities express themselves through personal style and pride flags. Admittedly, we are very lucky to have a campus culture that is widely accepting and supportive—we just need to come together to construct consistent spaces for the community to open its arms to incoming students and students coming into their own identity.
It will be a community effort and it will take some work, but I promise it will be worth the wait. Our little home in the forest is the perfect place for a Queer community to blossom and grow into what it once was. Queering the Forest may be over for the year, but that just means we have the chance to make the rest of the year as Queer as we can.
Jocelyn Freeman is a senior majoring in history and English, minoring in Chinese.
Featured image courtesy of Drew Student Activities (@drewstuact on Instagram).
