SE Pride is a new organization that came to Southeastern this fall. It was created to help build and maintain a safe environment for students, faculty and others in the LGBTQ community. Senior communication major, Jerai Billy, started the process of creating this organization by requesting a $25 donation from six on campus organizations. She then created and posted flyers around campus to gain publicity. There are now 15 members signed up.

SE Pride hosted an event on October 22, called, “You’re safe with me.” Throughout the day, students or members of the community wore a safety pin with rainbow beads on their clothing to symbolize that they were  “safe” for LGBTQ people to talk to, come out to you and be confident around.

To keep the ball rolling, SE Pride will be hosting their first annual True Blue Drag show. What began as just a simple Drag Show, quickly became something bigger. Vice President of Student Affairs, Liz McCraw, said she believed that since this is the first time the event would be happening on campus, she wanted several organizations to get involved believing it would encourage more students to participate.

Billy saw an opportunity for the college community and jumped on it. “I am a Residential Assistance and we have to do programs that represent our community and in mine, there are a lot of LGBTQ, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a Drag Show,” Billy explained.

She believes that the True Blue Drag Show is a fantastic way to expose to people what they may not be use to. Billy has worked with McCraw to make this event and organization come to the university. Billy stated, “I went through a lot for this to happen and I hope for the best.”

You do not have to be a part of the LGBTQ community to join. It is open to any Southeastern student.

SE Pride is aiming to create a sense of visibility and community throughout the campus. Meetings are held every Sunday Night at 8 p.m., with the location announced by Billy.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Jerai Billy at (580) 239-9166