Phil Reese said he knows at least two dozen gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender students who have left CMU because they felt out of place.

“They feel like there’s nothing for GLBT people here,” the Lincoln
Park senior said.

The Gay-Straight Alliance is launching Queer Peer, a program
orientating incoming or newly outed GLBT students in the CMU and Mount
Pleasant communities.

Reese, GSA vice president, said it introduces students to many parts
of campus and town they might not know about, while giving younger
students a positive role model they can relate to.

“In a nutshell, Queer Peer is meant to provide the resources for
students who are coming out, or students already out, that are having
their first year at Central, really need,” he said.

Reese, a homosexual, said it took almost four years to find the best
opportunities at CMU.

“If I had something like this when I was a freshman, I could have
made the most of my time here,” he said.

While the alliance can provide a valuable source of information for
many GLBT students, Reese said the group can’t always meet each
individual’s needs completely.

“My job in the GSA is to assess what we’re lacking,” he said. “The
problem was that individual needs could not be met in the large group
setting as well as they could be met in a one-on-one program.”

Queer Peer focuses on five key points for the individual student.

They are support, services, socialization into CMU, familiarization
with campus and town, and academic and personal success.

“It gives new students a chance to experience their freshman year
with a little bit of guidance,” said New Baltimore freshman Samantha
Underwood, Queer Peer advisory board member.

Queer Peer draws on advice from the Office of Affirmative Action,
Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates and the Office of Gay and Lesbian
Programs. The mentoring program will go through a trial run this
semester and will be in full-effect next fall.

Almost 20 mentors and a half dozen prospective “peers” – those being
mentored – already have expressed interest, Reese said.

“This is a great chance to learn,” he said. “Right now it’s a
project of the GSA, and hopefully it will remain under the GSA forever.”

Both current and incoming students can find out more at
www.queerpeer.cmugsa.org.

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