LGBTQ Students Find Themselves And Find Community At OU

Last month students packed around long plastic tables, talking and sharing turkey, pumpkin pie and each others’ company. The event was called Queersgiving. In recent years the term “queer” has been adopted by the LGBTG movement. According to PLAG, the nation’s largest LGBTQ ally organization, the word is used to describe anyone who “feels somehow outside of the societal norms in regards to gender or sexuality.” The dinner gave University of Oklahoma students who identify as queer a chance to meet and bond with each other. One of the attendees, Hayley Hinsberger is a linguistics and computer science major. She’s from the suburbs of Chicago and was wary about coming to OU. “I was worried, but also the scholarship was probably worth it so I was like “I will deal with it when I have to,’” Hinsberger said. “Oklahoma's not the greatest place to be gay, but it's fine because nobody knows and I don't have to tell anyone.” OU Chemical engineering senior Darius Dixon felt differently. He saw OU