By Grace Tesoro, Staff Writer
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) has brought a new addition this semester: Quali-Tea Time, a time for LGBT women at Susquehanna to enjoy some tea, scones and relaxation.
Senior Angie Poole, along with students who also work in the CDI, came up with this new idea.
“Each semester, we are responsible for coming up with a semester project,” Poole explained. Poole continued, talking more about their inspiration for creating Quali-Tea Time.
“I remembered as a freshman coming in, I had only come out to myself and I wasn’t really out to anybody,” Poole said. “I never really considered I could be happy and be gay. I had met a couple faculty and staff members that were gay or bisexual women. I got to see them with these happy, successful jobs and they had families. This totally changed my perspective on what was possible for me.”
Poole expressed that their change in perspective inspired them to create similar opportunities for incoming students.
“Seeing this was a moment of realization that I could be happy about who I am and have a good life,” Poole said. “At that time for me, it was a revolutionary feeling. I remembered what that felt like to me as an incoming student and I wanted other students to see themselves in their professors.”
Quali-Tea Time is held every Wednesday, starting at 10 a.m. and ending at noon. The first Quali-Tea Time was held Oct. 3.
“It is a relaxed space during the hours of 10 until noon because not a lot of people are in the Center for Diversity and Inclusion,” Poole said. “I scheduled it during this time, so people can stop by when they please between classes, so they can relax and enjoy some refreshments.”
“I knew at the start of the semester, I wanted to make this project women focused,” Poole continued. “A lot of my work at the CDI has surrounded [LGBT] issues, so I thought about creating a space for LGBT women to get to see each other and meet each other.”
“More importantly,” Poole added, “I want this to be a space where people can be around people like them, so they can forget about it for a little bit. I want them to be able to talk about their lives openly and not feel bad about their partners.” Poole also noted the changes that the LGBT community has experienced from one generation to the next, specifically on the evolution of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) organization.
“It is a lot different now than when professors were in school,” Poole said. “I’ve talked to people where when they were in school, the GSA was a super-secret club that was not advertised at all. And whenever someone new wanted to join, they would have to meet in a very secluded area. At that time, it was dangerous to have a GSA on campus. Now, GSA is so vocal and so out there which is really cool.” For Poole, Quali-Tea Time is a setting where younger and older generations of LGBT women can meet.
“I want students to see that this work has been going on for a really long time as well as that there are people like them and they have been around a really long time,” Poole said.
Poole also expressed their hopes for the future of Quali-Tea Time and making it permanent.
“My hopes for Quali-Tea Time is that it sticks around, if the interest is there. It is going to depend a lot on how many people want it to continue and if there are enough people for it to continue,” Poole said.
