Leah Yodzsi and Sarah Grote of the LGBT Center will be hosting a Queer Bobcat Meet-N-Greet this Thursday in Baker at 6 p.m.
The Ohio University LGBT Center is doing a repeat of last year in helping students from all backgrounds feel welcome.
The center will host a Queer Bobcat Meet-N-Greet for all students to come out and socialize Thursday at 6 p.m. The event will be in the Bobcat Student Lounge on the first floor of Baker Center.
“I think (the event is) really important,” Leah Yodzis, the LGBT Center’s project coordinator, said in an email. “It’s a way to meet new people and even make lifetime friends. As for the center, it’s just great knowing that we are the ones that brought them together.”
During the event, multiple organizations will promote themselves and have tables set up with more information, including the Ohio University Police Department, who attended last year. Other members of the center will also attend.
“It’s a nice way that people can come and meet other people that are in the community, or allies,” Emma Holman-Smith, a staff member of the LGBT Center, said. “A lot of freshman come in, and it can be a little nerve wracking.”
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Holman-Smith, a junior studying mathematics and Russian, said they attended the event last year and had a great experience meeting new people.
The meet-n-greet also provides an opportunity for students to know more information about the LGBT Center and its staff members. Students, Holman-Smith said, will be able to connect with one another in a low pressure, relaxed setting.
“Sometimes it can be intimidating coming in by yourself,” Holman-Smith said. “People who don’t know much about the Center can see how accepting the people involved are, (and) have an opportunity to see what the Center is all about.”
Students who attend have the opportunity to win prizes and enjoy food and refreshments at the event.
“We also have some fun games to play that didn’t happen last year,” Yodzis, who is co-hosting the meet-n-greet, said.
Holman-Smith said the meet and greet will be a colorful, fun and open environment. While keeping things light, attendants will learn more about the LGBT community here at OU.
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