Contributed by NU Pride
WELCOME to this year’s baby gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans folks, and queers of all kinds! I hope your orientation hasn’t been too overwhelmingly hetero. Maybe your OL has told you about being LGBTQA at Northeastern, but I’m going to assume they haven’t for the sake of continuing this little article! It’s a brief guide to getting started in NU’s queer community, brought to you by the president of NU Pride (NU’s oldest queer student club).
During the school week, stop by the LGBTQA Resource Center on the third floor of Curry to play a board game or pretend to do homework. It’s a great low-pressure way to meet other queer people, since you can always say you “have a thing to go to” and leave once you’ve had enough socialization. Say hi to Lee (the assistant director) in their office and don’t be intimidated by how cute they are! I’m obligated to plug NU Pride here, so please look for details on our fall mixer during Welcome Week! We have weekly meetings on Thursday evenings as well as speakers and workshops. If you decide Pride isn’t your thing, the Resource Center can point you towards more LGBTQA clubs and interest groups aimed at covering different needs of NU’s diverse community. Shoutouts to oSTEM (Out In STEM), Out In Business, and… whoever else has their shit together this fall!
Now that I’ve gotten the vanilla stuff out of the way, let’s get spicy! Boston has a thriving gay & lesbian nightlife and you can honestly learn a lot about it using your friend and mine, Google. The most popular spot for NU students is Machine on Friday nights, which are 18+ (make sure you bring cash for the cover charge). Machine can get kind of messy, so make sure you bring at least one responsible friend. There’s also Queeraoke at The Midway on Thursday nights, and classier dancing at Club Cafe. If you’re more of a coffeeshop queer, hang out at Pavement Coffeehouse on Huntington and try to make eye contact with the hot baristas.
If you’re more of a fighter than a lover, don’t despair – there’s still plenty to get angry about! For example, we’ve been fighting to get more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus for years. They’re still missing from Snell Library, so study sessions have to be interrupted with treks to the top floor (!) of Curry and back. They’re also conspicuously absent from the new Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex. Maybe NU’s next million-dollar donor will convince Aoun to include a couple. Maybe that donor will be you! Another great resource is Fenway Health, an LGBT-focused health center by Fenway Park that hosts workshops and trainings as well as doctor stuff.
I really can’t overstate how great the Resource Center is, so please don’t be too scared to stop in! Like them on Facebook (NU Pride too, while you’re at it) and look out for upcoming events. Facebook is also home to NU’s meme-sharing groups, most of which suck, but there’s a great one called Big Gay that’s become an informal hub for campus queers. Check it out.
That’s it from me! Have fun, be proud, and please don’t be afraid to be yourself at Northeastern. If anyone gives you shit for it, I’ll personally beat them up.
XOXO – Diana R