Central Washington University is a school that prides itself on diversity and acceptance of all students, and strives to ensure that those students feel like they are in a safe and welcoming environment. Equality through Queers and Allies (EQuAl) is an organization that strives to create an atmosphere for students from all walks of life and educate others on civil rights issues within the community.

According to Patrick Carpenter, senior and president of EQuAl, nobody’s quite sure when the organization started.

“It started off as a group that had to meet kind of clandestinely in different rooms around campus, very much hidden, when you know, being a part of the queer community wasn’t as accepted,” Carpenter said. “It really started growing in the early ‘90’s and as the 2000’s came, the club became official.”

EQuAl was created based on a student need to have a place where queer people could go and be around other members of the queer community. That way, they can have a place where people respect who they are and share their identity.

“When you come into EQuAl, you know that your identity and your existence is going to be respected,” Carpenter said.

Now the organization has their own room that they can use for their meetings instead of having to move around like they used to. The room is a benefit because it is easy to find, but still in a side room which is good for people who may not feel as confident in their identity. They can come in and not feel like they are going to be singled out.

The space is not only open to members of the queer community. EQuAl also includes local community members and a large number of “allies.”

Victoria Robertson, senior and radio coordinator for EQuAl, and Carpenter both agree that being an ally is not something that you can get a degree in and then do nothing, it is a daily commitment. An ally has to be the person that stands up for a queer person when they do not feel comfortable and makes sure that they are respected and loved.

As times have changed, the queer community has continued to grow and expand to include a variety of different people who identify as “queer.”

“The most common acronym that is used that we also try and follow is LGBTQIA+ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual], but I know that people in the community will shorthand it to something shorter,” Robertson said.

This acronym, along with others, has helped people within the queer community take pride in who they are. Where before taunts like “smear the queer” were used to torment those in the community, now the members use that term proudly as a way to break the status quo of society. However, using the term does vary from person to person.

“We are an open community,” Robertson said. “We try and validate people when they come to our meetings, just to give validation to how they feel.”

Along with Pride Week, which is their main event, EQuAl also hosts a variety of other programs including coffee chats every third Thursday of the month, Drag Bingo featuring drag performers from the area and Q&A With A Gay in the residence halls. All of these activities, and more, help EQuAl to provide representation for the queer community here in Ellensburg and on campus.