In mid-March this year, we tried something now: a trip combining 2 campus organizations. Having been an OP participant from the very beginning (FYJ) and a PRIDE club member from the start of freshman year, I tried combining the two. I decided to offer my trip leading experience to the club and offer a camping trip to the members.

So the weekend after Spring Break we went up to Bearpaw Reserve to spend some time together outside of the PRIDE club room. The trip was fairly short, but we fit quite a bit in. We had a campfire that night and we made s’mores, we did the Evening Program of “Masks” which led to a fantastic discussion of the realities facing the LGBTQ+ community and on Saturday we got to go on a hike.

The trip wasn’t as LGBTQ+ oriented as I thought it was going to be, but walking away from the experience, I realized that perhaps that wasn’t the point, but rather just to get club members together hanging out in a time and place that wasn’t at the weekly meeting. Having had the opportunity to talk to people after the trip, it was a positive experience, which was just the right length, and for being a pilot trip, really could not have gone better.

Until Next Time,

Joe