Horizon Queer and straight come together Story and photo by Jessica Daniel Horizon Reporter
“We are the QSA, a club that promotes a welcoming environment for all races, creeds, color, religion, and backgrounds to come together with a comfortable atmosphere to promote freedom and equality, in a safe place,” said Rachel Simpson, the president of Whatcom’s Queer Straight Alliance. The Queer Straight Alliance is open to anyone, no matter what sexual preference. It is a group of students led by advisors Crystal Ravenwood and John Gonzales, and focuses on educating the students and the public. “The QSA helped me to have a sense of community and a place to belong. It’s a way to get a social network to the WCC students,” said Nathen Mattly, the club treasurer. Simpson said the club works on spreading valuable information through open communication to everyone, through both reference materials and personal experiences. “We care about being a key role and a part of a community of Whatcom County, as both a resident as well as a WCC student,” Simpson said. The QSA has student members ranging from 16 to 40 years of age, with eight to 20 members varying throughout the year. The club wants to make sure that others who might be interested in the QSA will know about it, and decide to join. Simpson said the club meets weekly to plan events and have good
Veteran feedback Hey WCC, In my two years here at WCC, I have seen a very fundamental shift in the way veterans are treated on campus. Much of this is due to the influence of guys like Tim Nelson who are no longer with us. If you weren’t aware, Tim was a Marine Corps veteran who spent several years at Whatcom working for veterans’ care and recognition. Tragically, Tim took his own life, due in large part to the many problems he faced related to his service in the Marines. One issue which I think is important to veterans, and would have been important to Tim, is the fair treatment of veterans with emotional, legal, financial, and substance abuse problems. Many afflicted veterans end up homeless, hospitalized, dead, or in a criminal justice system that hurts them more than it heals. We need to create a special court for veterans, like drug court, which will see that they are given a helping hand and not a kick while they are down. We need to create special human services that target veter-
discussions. Once a month, it meets for an extended period of two hours. Other times, the club relaxes and plays games or has food for the members. During the meetings, they discuss important issues such as Referendum 71, and the legalization of marriage between gay and lesbian couples. “Every vote counts,” Simpson said. Cat Horton, a member of the Queer Straight Alliance said, “The QSA offers a place to hang out and discuss issues with no judgements and no questions.” “It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, black, white, pink or purple,” Horton said. “As long as you believe in equality and are non discriminating, it’s a fun place to get involved.” This fall quarter the club had a successful time with the Mallard’s Free Ice Cream Social during Veterans week, which helped spread the word about the club. The QSA uses word of mouth, posters, and Facebook as well as big events every year to promote the club. One such event will take place in Feburary. The QSA plans to put on a new free masquerade ball this winter quarter instead of the Rainbow Prom. The masquerade ball will have music, hired entertainers such as a local belly dancer troupe, space for dancing, a professional photographer, costume and mask contests, games, door prizes, and catered food. In spring quarter, the QSA will host its annual Drag & Variety Show in May, which is also during the club’s Queer Awareness Week. Putting on these public events is just one way the QSA connects with the public. The QSA is associated with quite a
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Left to right: Roxanne Mymrin, Susan Upston, Ryan Fredrickson, Rachel Simpson, Clint, Nathen Mattly and Cat Horton. In front are the advisors, Crystal Ravenwood and John Gonazles. few other public organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, Evergreen Aids Foundation, Imperial Sovereign Court of the Evergreen Empire, Rumors Cabaret, the Bellingham Roller Betties, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, (Pflag) Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Skagit Rainbow Coalition, and Bellingham’s Pride Foundation. Horton is involved in the LGBTQ, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender and Queer. Horton is more popularly known as the ‘Mr. Gay of Bellingham’ and also works with the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Evergreen Empire, a nonprofit organization raising funds for the cause, as well as providing memorial schoolarships for those doing the LGBTQ studies at Fairhaven College, through Western. Simpson talked about the club name.
“We embrace the word ‘queer,’” she said, “because we are trying to take back the word to reinforce it with a positive manner and that will change the way everyone sees the meaning of the word.” Mattly said there is a stigma of the word “queer,” calling it an umbrella term for anyone who is different. Mattly said of the QSA, “People can come here and have a safe place to come and belong to.” Contact information The QSA meets every Thursday at 4 p.m. in Heiner 101 E-mail: wccqsa@gmail.com Facebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/wccqsa Community Profile: http://community.livejournal.com/wcc_qsa/ profile
Letters to the Editor ans who are struggling to reintegrate into society. We need to save emotionally-compromised vets from getting dragged into the legal morass that we call our criminal justice system. Please help me to create a special court in Whatcom County for veterans. If you are interested email me at stoplossed@gmail.com Until we can fix the problems of crime and punishment in our society, we should at least try to save the veterans who are at greater risk for a myriad of personal problems because of their selfless service. Thanks, Evan Knappenberger Whatcom Community College, 2007-09 US Army, 2003-2007 stoplossed@gmail.com
Web site feedback Dear Horizon Staff, I wanted to let you all know that the paper’s Web site looks amazing! Great job, Rachel, on working so hard on it! I love that readers have the option of checking out the paper online and have an interactive site at their fingertips. The layout is wonderful and the “Featured Stories” slide show is fantastic! Kudos to the mastermind behind that idea! Keep up the good work, everyone! It’s great to see the Horizon doing so well. -Esther Martinez
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Corrections from Nov. 10 issue: In the story “International at Heart”, Ulli Schraml’s job title was incorrect. He is a coordinator in the international programs office working with activities and special programs, study abroad, and is the advisor for the IFC. He also obtained his master’s in history, not English. He has no English degrees. Also, in the “Meet the Women’s Volleyball team” article, player Kelsie Meenderink’s name was misspelled.