Clothing swap fosters equality

Western Herald - news









On Tuesday Feb. 28, Laura Brendsel, an intern at the Western Michigan University LGBT Office, held a gender neutral clothes swap. The clothes swap provided clothes to anybody who needed them and offered students a chance to get rid of some of their own clothes.











The clothes swap was held in Britton-Hadley hall. It allowed students to come in, look at clothes and donate some of their own. The focus of this event was gender neutral because members of the LGBT community are trying to take away the boundaries of the labels, Brendsel said.






The goal was to create a safe and comfortable place for LGBT students to gather. Sometimes students are uncomfortable buying the clothes they want to wear because they are not specific to their gender. LGBT members can feel lost when going clothes shopping, Brendsel said.





A small event like this creates a safe place for somebody who does feel lost to go and meet other people who might feel the same way.





There was not a lot of foot traffic at the event, but small events like this matter because they create a community for people to gather in, Brendsel said.





“One event could be ho-hum to somebody, but it could be a big difference to somebody else,” Brendsel said.





If just two students showed up, that means that the event helped those two students., Brendsel said.





With further events, the LGBT office wants to advertise more to the LGBT community and to any student on campus.





The clothing swap was sponsored by Pride Alliance, a LGBT group on WMU’s campus, and they are hoping to do more events like this. They want to create a relaxing atmosphere for all students to enjoy.





Study programs and a place to hang out are offered during exam weeks by the LGBT office. The office is open to people ...


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