On The Edge News

By Rebecca Dickman

On The Edge Assistant Editor

Sept. 8, 2021

SAFE, Edgewood College’s LGBTQ+ student organization, was revived during the summer after over a year of inactivity. 

Student organizers Abbey Brooks, a sophomore, and Breanna Kluz, a junior, held the group’s first meeting last week. They said their main goals for SAFE are creating an accepting group for LGBTQ+ students and building a supportive campus community.

“It’s literally called SAFE. This is a safe place for people on campus, and not just a physical place like the Queer Student Center, but a support system,” said Kluz. 

Brooks also said that the group is not only for those in the LGBTQ+ community, but allies and supporters as well. 

“I’d want students to know that whoever they are, they have a place here as long as they treat others with kindness and respect,” says Brooks.

Brooks and Kluz said they saw the need for this group after the isolation they felt during the pandemic. 

“Last year was hard for everyone being fully online and having almost no interaction with others and our community here at Edgewood,” Brooks said. “It especially impacts our queer population though, as community is where we often find our most critical support and love.”

The Aug. 30 meeting in Predolin 115B brought in around 44 students to paint tote bags together. Kluz said she was excited to plan a fun, and environmentally friendly first meeting. 

Brooks and Kluz said they have many plans for the future including movie nights, craft nights, and outings around Madison. They hope that new members will help make decisions about upcoming club events and activities. 

“We really want this to be a non-hierarchical, collectively led group that decides for ourselves what we want to do, all the way from educational or activist projects in Madison to what kinds of craft nights we want to have,” Brooks added. 

More information about the organization’s next meeting will be posted on the group’s Presence page and on Instagram.