When Arthi Jegraj came to the University of Minnesota, they had a difficult time transitioning from their diverse high school in California to a majority white campus, so they searched for a community through student groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jegraj, who uses she and they pronouns, said the Queer Student Cultural Center (QSCC) stood out to them more than other groups because of its welcoming atmosphere. The QSCC is a cultural center dedicated to providing a safe space for students of LGBTQ+ identities on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s come as you are,\u201d Jegraj said, \u201dWe accept you, and we love and cherish you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The QSCC also provided Jegraj with a community that fit the intersections of their identity through Roots, one of the center\u2019s identity groups. The QSCC has nine active identity groups that encompass specific identities within LGBTQ+ communities, and Roots is a group for queer-identified students of color. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the Indian community, I\u2019m a little too queer for them, and in a lot of queer spaces, I\u2019m a little too brown for them,\u201d Jegraj said. \u201cHaving a group that\u2019s intersectional to begin with is groundbreaking.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roots gets a new facilitator <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jegraj, a junior, became Roots\u2019 new facilitator a few weeks into the spring semester because the group needed a new leader. Roots held its first meeting of the semester, which was a casual tea party, on Feb. 6. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Facilitators are QSCC board members who run at least one of the identity groups by coordinating events, activities and discussions, the center\u2019s Marketing Manager Alexander Lucas said. Each identity group requires at least one facilitator to function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lucas, who uses he and they pronouns, said a few facilitators left after fall semester, causing those groups, including Roots, to go on hiatus until new facilitators were found. They said it can be \u201cdisheartening\u201d when groups do not have a facilitator because the identity groups create community for many students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jegraj said part of the reason why they wanted to be a Roots facilitator was to diversify QSCC\u2019s leadership because the board is majority white. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of us [people of color] that are queer and open and comfortable facilitating difficult discussions \u2026 so I felt like this would be a good space to open up a conversation,\u201d Jegraj said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jegraj said so far, they have enjoyed facilitating Roots because they have been able to meet new people, create a comfortable space and have fun while also discussing difficult topics. Jegraj said one of their goals for Roots is to start discussions about language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow we perceive it and use it and how white and hetero-centered it is because I feel like that\u2019s been a big part of my learning about queer history and what it is like to be a person of the global majority,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n