Every year, around the beginning of the semester, Safe Zone and the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center (HCDC) hosts a welcoming dinner for entering and returning Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ) students and allies.

This year, Rachel Ross with the HCDC coordinated a BBQ(ueer) on the patio at The Sanderson Center.

The Safe Zone Advisory Board is a group of faculty, staff and students who promote a welcome, supportive and safe community for LGBTQ faculty, staff and students, as well as campus and community allies. 

The event had over 50 faculty, staff and students in attendance, along with special guest Rob Hill from the Human Rights Campaign of Mississippi. 

LGBTQ organizations such as Spectrum and LGBTQ+Union had representatives attend in order to spread the word about safe and welcoming student groups on Mississippi State University’s campus. 

Students of all classifications and majors mingled and conversed with teachers and staff from the university, expressing gratitude for the ability to assemble and be welcomed into the academic community. 

Melissa Grimes, video producer with the Wildlife Fisheries and Aquaculture department at MSU felt the event had a great turn out. 

“We had a tremendous response from not only the student body but also from the faculty and staff,” Grimes said.  “Having these types of events on campus serves to create a welcoming environment where all students feel safe and comfortable.”

The event created a safe environment for students and faculty to discuss the future expansion of LGBTQ resources on campus. Bert Montgomery, instructor at MSU and pastor of University Baptist Church felt the BBQ was a great way for the LGBTQ community to feel welcomed onto campus.

“I had a great time at the BBQ(ueer) event. I was excited to see so many new faces. It’s important for everyone to feel both welcomed and safe when they arrive on MSU’s campus,” Montgomery said. “I believe that as the LGBTQ community and its allies continue to grow more visible, it becomes easier for us all to be more accepting and respectful of one another – and that just makes Misissippi State University an even better place to be.”