Mason Apollonic Society Unites LGBTQ Community

By Broadside Style Editor Emily Sharrer

For a little over three weeks, George Mason University doctorate candidate Jaap Weel has been working to make the Mason Apollonic Society, an organization promoting a sense of community for LGBTQ graduate students, faculty, staff and allies, a reality. Weel, the new president for the group, has had help from Treasurer Jen Wolf and Vice President Dan Waxman, as well as Ric Chollar, associate director of LGBTQ student affairs, who has agreed to become the organization’s faculty advisor.

Although the club has not been officially enstated at Mason, that hasn’t stopped the Mason Apollonic Society from planning their first big event. After all, the LGBTQ graduate student association wouldn’t want to miss putting on an event for National Coming Out Day, one of the largest celebrations for the LGBTQ community.

In coordination with Mason’s week-long celebration of National Coming Out Day, the Mason Apollonic Society is planning a National Coming Out Day happy hour, planned for Saturday, Oct. 9, the official date of coming out day.

Having the happy hour on National Coming Out Day is significant to the LGBTQ community according to Weel and will provide students with a low-key, unstructured social event that allows for plenty of face-to-face interaction.

“On a large level there is a need for equality. Everybody is encouraged to take the next step in coming out, no matter what that step may be ... This is a day where we celebrate everybody’s own decision about outing themselves,” said Chollar.

Those interested in attending the happy hour will meet in the lobby of the Arlington Original Building on Mason’s Arlington campus.

“It’s important to build community, and this event links the George Mason campuses between Arlington and Fairfax,” said Waxman.

Thus far, the Mason Apollonic Society has gotten a board of officers together and found a faculty adviser, but there are still a number of steps the organization must go through to become recognized as a student organization. Next, the club must write a constitution and submit a formal application to Student Activities.

“We want to seek official recognition so that we can use university facilities and money to promote ourselves and host events, and generally better fulfill our mission of building and bringing together the LGBTQ graduate and professional student community,” said Weel.

Although Pride Alliance, a Mason organization that promotes education and resources for fostering respect and diversity on campus, Weel felt that the need for a similar organization for graduate students was great, especially after a previous Mason LGBTQ graduate organization became defunct.

“We felt that there was a demand among LGBTQ graduate and professional students for a way to connect with their direct peers in a way that is targeted specifically to them,” said Weel. “We plan to center events around both the Fairfax and Arlington campuses since many grad students attend class in Arlington.”

According to Weel, in the future the group plans to focus mainly on social events that can help the graduate and professional student LGBTQ community grow and connect.
“It’s all about brining people together and building community,” said Waxman.

To learn more about the Mason Apollonic Society visit the group’s Web site at www.apollonic.info, check out their facebook group or e-mail one of the group’s officers at board@apollonic.info.