Queers and Allies provides support and fun
Written by Jenna Dousi
Photo provided by Ryan Workman
When Ryan Workman, a fourth-year fashion design major from Louisville, Kentucky, first joined Queers and Allies, he didn’t know how involved he would eventually become.
“I was just super gay with a lot of questions,” said Workman. “I was like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go to this club.’”
Now, since the start of his fourth-year at SCAD, Workman is the president of Queers and Allies, a club focused on offering support, information, and recreation to all SCAD students. As one of the largest clubs at SCAD, Queers & Allies invites students of any gender or orientations to join and participate.
“We’re just a fun club for everyone. We love our allies as well,” said Workman. “Everyone’s there to have a good time.”
The club isn’t just about having fun, though. Each two-hour meeting features a centralized topic, such as transgender issues, body image or safe sex. While there are 30 minutes scheduled for socialization and recreation, there’s a whole hour dedicated to information and news about the meeting’s topic followed by a 30 minutes of support from student mentors.
These meetings take place every Thursday, except for the first and last Thursday of the month, at 9 p.m. in the Boundary Common Room.
Their Thanksgiving celebration, not yet scheduled, but coming up at the end of fall quarter, is one of the club’s many special events held throughout the year. It’s a time for members to get together one last time before the quarter’s end.
According to Workman, the club expects to hold several more events during the winter quarter, including a talent show and a Valentine’s Day party.
Anyone who wants to join is encouraged to do so. Whether they’re interested in just casually attending meetings or becoming mentors who are members selected by the board to provide peer-to-peer advice and support.
“If you don’t know about the club, and you feel like you’re alone in any way at SCAD, just know that you’re not and that we’re always here for you,” said Workman.
For more information on Queers and Allies, check out their Tumblr page.
