Ryan Campbell, Olathe sophomore, and Nancy Gonzalez-Hoch, San Miguel, Mexico, sophomore, went to their first Queers & Allies meeting. Officially, they went to check things out because they served together on Student Senate, which funds the group. But according to Gonzalez-Hoch, she and Campbell went to find out what the group does and, she says half jokingly, “We wanted to go so he could be the Q and me the A.”

KU Queers & Allies, also known as Q & A, intimidated Campbell because it was perceived as a dating service. He convinced Gonzalez-Hoch to go along as a “comfort blanket.”

Campbell came out while he was still in high school. He says that because he did he was booed on his high school’s home court while serving as an escort for the homecoming queen and was kicked out of the Boy Scouts of America two days after attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Even his parents had trouble accepting that he was gay.

“My father used to give me a lot of shit about it and it took my mother several months to acknowledge it,” he says. “Before I was at KU, the reactions people had to my homosexuality were largely negative.”

At the University Campbell was shocked because although he knew his sexual orientation would be a problem for some people on campus, he says he never heard anything negative. Since then, he’s also been surprised by the support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community around the city.

“I was also a bit surprised when I moved into the dorms, because Naismith is sort of a haven for gay students,” he says. “On my floor alone, there were five gay men. My roommate, by chance, was gay. It was just a lot to get used to.”

Campbell says he searched for a way to participate in the LGBT community and found the club scene more like a habit than an outlet in which to participate.

“Liquid was sort of an addiction I had for a while, because it seemed to be the best outlet for the gay community in Lawrence,” he says.

Queers & Allies, he thought, would be a better way to participate in the gay community in Lawrence, rather than Naismith Hall and Liquid Bar & Nightclub, 804 W. 24th St.

A flexible identity

“Labels are for jars, not people,” says an old friend of KU Queers & Allies communications director Stephanie Bottoms, Omaha, Neb., senior. Bottoms uses that quote to explain that she believes sexual orientation is a spectrum, not a fixed condition. She joined Queers & Allies because she wanted to help change its image away from that of a dating service and toward a mechanism of change within the community, she says.

“Since being here, I’ve learned that it’s not all about parties and dating. That’s just the main thing that gets advertised,” Bottoms says. “So I’ve helped to get the word out about our other programs and events.”

She has spread the word about the group’s sponsored lectures, discussions and social events, Bottoms says. Queers & Allies offers an arena for LGBT and non-LGBT individuals to proactively pursue common political and social objectives, and it provides counseling for people who are struggling with sexuality issues.

Jessica Rojas, Olathe junior, says she benefited from the counseling available from Queers & Allies. She began questioning her sexual orientation when she was 18 years old and remained uncertain for about a year. Then she came to the University and heard about the group, Rojas says.

“Q & A opened my eyes and myself to who I am,” Rojas says. “I am so much happier now that I can understand myself. I’ve been able to get involved and realize that I can be myself.”

Rojas originally identified herself as bisexual, but she says that through the friends and environment within Queers & Allies she eventually became more comfortable and now identifies herself as a lesbian.

Listen, talk, enjoy or join

Queers & Allies sponsors a variety of events to encourage group participation. The group meets weekly, alternating between social and business meetings. Their most recent social meeting was the first ever Queer Hawk Bowling, to which they invited anyone who was interested bowl for free.

Last semester they offered another first-time event, Q & A with Q & A, an open-discussion forum. Anyone can join the organization simply by attending the meetings, says Jonathan Pryor Queers & Allies director.

In February, the group helped pay for Esera Tuaolo to speak at the University. Tuaolo announced he was gay after retiring from professional football and since then has spoken at universities around the country about tolerance. Tuaolo says that there was a small LGBT group at the college he attended but that he never considered it an option to join because he thought he would lose his football scholarship and his chance to help his family financially by playing in the NFL.

“It’s all up to them if they feel it’s safe enough to come out,” Tuaolo says. “But when they come out, we as a community must rally around them and show support.”

Ryan Campbell’s involvement in Queers & Allies has helped show his mother that his involvement in the LGBT community is something that he’s passionate about.

“[She has realized that] this is a culture of people who accept each other and embrace each other and are here to stay,” he says. And he stresses that the relationships he has with non-LGBT individuals like his mother and Nancy Gonzalez-Hoch are important because they serve as ambassadors and lead by example.

“I think that reaching out to straight individuals really serves as a bridge to less accessible people who would probably be more close-minded, because a gay person telling a straight person that it’s OK to be gay is nothing even comparable to a straight person telling another straight person that.”