Over 250 people showed up at Simpson Plaza on August 30th for the Queer Barbecue, also known as the QBBQ.
The event was hosted by a number of organizations, to include: the Queer Community Coalition (QCC), the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the School of Culture, Gender, and Social Justice, and the Poke Pride Center.
The event featured live music, barbecue, several organizations tabling to show their support for queer folk in Laramie.
“We’re really lucky to have all our campus partners and community partners who are doing the work in our communities and in the state of Wyoming,” said Kora Wolfgang, Gender and Sexuality Project Coordinator.
The event is one of the ways that the various pride communities on campus help support the LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and community members.
Other such resources include the LGBTQIA2S+ Student Circles, and the Poke Pride Center, , that provides resources and support to queer folk on campus.
Set to open in October, another resource soon to come to campus is Multicultural Affairs’ pop-up clothing closet, where people can go to find gender affirming clothing that has been donated by members of the community.
“Anyone in the community or on campus who needs a comfortable place to find some clothing to express their gender expression or a safe place to do that we will be having that clothing closet open up in certain areas like Sheppard’s Symposium,” said Wolfgang.
QCC co-president Peri Hennigar said “One of [the QCC’s] main purposes is to help create a sense of community for allies and members of the community as well as fostering relationships.”
The QBBQ seemed to accomplish this task, as Simpson Plaza overflowed with queer folk and allies socializing, enjoying barbeque, and learning about queer resources offered in Laramie.
“This is going to be a really important semester for making sure queer students feel safe and welcome, what with everything going on both on-campus and within the state government, and we really want students to know that QCC is trying to do exactly that,” said QCC Social Media Coordinator Lauren Zotta.
“I think that’s the biggest part of the QBBQ and other events hosted by Multicultural Affairs and QCC: sharing in each other’s joy, especially in spite of everything that’s been going on,” said Zotta.
