Welcome to Student Group Spotlight! Every month, we will feature a different student group to demonstrate the many diverse groups we have at MacEwan and how they all contribute to a vibrant, thriving community on our campus.
Meet the InQueeries Club! We sat down with three of their members to discuss what this club is, how they are working to create a safe space on campus, and some of their exciting initiatives.
SAMU: Hi, welcome to the Student Group Spotlight. Let’s get started by telling me about yourselves.
Grimm: Hi, I’m Grimm Wieler, the president of InQueeries. I use he/they pronouns, and I’m a third-year Bachelor of Arts and Sciences student majoring in English.
Krain: Hi, I’m Krain Embers. I use they/them pronouns. I’m in Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology and minoring in Gender studies, and I’m the vice president of InQueeries.
Kane: Hi, I’m Kane/Levi Olekson; I’m two-spirited and use any pronouns. I’m in my second year of the Bachelor of Arts program, majoring in English and minoring in Classics. I’m the vice president of InQueeries.
SAMU: What is the InQueeries Club, and what do you do?
Grimm: InQueeries is a queer student group run by queer students. Our emphasis this year has been on the importance of being loud, proud and queer.
Kane: We focus on creating safe and welcoming campus spaces and keeping them as apolitical as possible. But we also know that when politics are rising, some people need to discuss it, so we occasionally host political talks and discussions around protest safety and other things.
SAMU: Why did you decide to join the club? What’s your favourite part about being a member?
Krain: I’m going into my third year of being an executive. When I first joined, it was during the pandemic, so we just had the bare bones of InQueeries since all our materials were gone, and there weren’t many people around. I Joined because I wanted to help foster and grow an LGBTQ+ community and partner with allies and allied groups, so we worked to build InQueeries back up to where it is now, and we are working to build it up more!
Grimm: I’ve been president for a year since I was elected just before Summer last year, so this has been my first full term. I decided to join because I had volunteered for the group and heard an election was coming up, and I wanted to get involved! My favourite thing about being in this group is standing at the front of our meetings and seeing all the students having fun and making new friends. It is really lovely to see people contributing to a space where they feel welcome on campus.
Kane: I joined InQueeries as a member when I started at MacEwan. I was shy, didn’t know who I was, and worried I wouldn’t be able to find friends. But my partner at the time joined InQueeries and told me about the lovely people there and encouraged me to check it out. For the first few meetings, I didn’t interact much with anyone; I just watched. But I kept going to the meetings and found that people were excited to see me coming back, which made me realize this is a place where I can be myself! This showed me that I wanted to join and help them since I’ve always been political, I attend protests, I’m indigenous queer, and I love being vocal and working towards making the world good. The LGBTQ+ community is very dear to me. I want to help teach and encourage people how to protest safely and give them guidance and resources around other things. My favourite part about being in this group is watching people like me come in for the first time, being unsure of themselves, and then seeing them down the road when they’ve dyed their hair, changed their name and are involved in the group and happy. There are a few students we have been watching this year who have begun to show up more and more and come out of their shells, and it’s just really nice to see; I love that part.
SAMU: How are you working to help students feel safer on campus and discover and love themselves?
Grimm: A lot of our meetings are focused on people being able to express themselves in a safe space. Whether that be making arts and crafts or posters for protests, we make sure we guide people to resources and places where they can seek out information, such as medical treatment, safe sex materials and more.
Kane: Yeah, queer-friendly therapists also reach out to us so we are able to recommend our students to places that will accept them for who they are, which is nice.
Krain: Throughout the year, we always have a weekly space open where all our events are held, and it’s a space where you can be yourself and let go of needing to constrain yourself and just be you.
Kane: We protect all students in our space from any negativity or ill intent targeted towards them from the outside. The CSGD also greatly helps with this; they have our back when it comes to any issues of safety or wellbeing.
SAMU: Wow, that sounds great. What is it like collaborating with the CSGD (Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity)
Grimm: We often have meetings with the CSGD ladies during the month. Even when we’re not collaborating, it’s really rewarding. They bring a structure to our interactions, and it never feels like there’s a deadline or something to panic about with them. Also, coming into this group in a leadership position, the CGSD was always there to offer guidance, whether I needed it professionally or personally. It’s been super fun; they are fantastic to work and collaborate with.
Krain: They were impactful in helping InQueeries get back on their feet when we started back up after the pandemic because five of us were wondering how we run a student group? They have let us use their space for events and things, which allowed us to build up a repertoire of students who know about us and continue to attend our events.
Kane: Yeah, we work incredibly closely with the CSGD. They are our queer elders and help us with so many things, like standing between students and the problems they face on campus. When we are scared and upset about our future, they open their doors for us to tell us we have a future and help us find the strength and motivation to persevere. They also help us to run field trips for high school GSAs. During Pride Week, we showed around a group of students from St. Albert enrolled in an accredited option GSA course. We took them to the Pride Centre and around for all the Pride weekend activities. We want to continue this next year, so we have an open call on all our socials for anyone who’d like us to travel and present a community presentation for them!
SAMU: That relationship sounds very special. What kind of events do you host? Do you have a favourite?
Grimm: My favourites have been our themed tea parties and PowerPoint nights. People have different approaches for PowerPoint nights, so you can go from learning interesting, enriching content to just laughing for five minutes straight and showing ‘my favourite cat photos.’
Kane: My favourite event is our tea parties, specifically witchy tee time. It was amazing, and it was also an essential space because not only were we doing queer stuff there, but we were promoting paganism. There is a big intersection between queers and witches. We were able to give them a safe space to come and read their tarot cards to like-minded individuals, and everyone had their trinkets and was dressed up. It was gorgeous.
Grimm: Yeah, students bring their favourite mugs and drink mix to share with other students. It’s a great way to start the year since it’s a fun and chill event to ease yourself into the club.
Krain: During my first year here, I hosted an event called be gay roll dice, where we had experienced players teaching new players how to play Dungeons & Dragons so we could introduce it in a friendly, safe space to get students into the game!
SAMU: What other things can students look forward to through your club?
Kane: We are thinking of hosting a Pride Month PowerPoint night at the CSGD since the ladies there have opened their area for us to host events over the summer. This is great, especially for people who might be unable to spend time at home and are looking for a safe space to enjoy themselves. We are looking to host a Jackbox Games night, and I’m super excited about that. Another event I’m looking forward to exploring is a semesterly two-spirit ceremony and having a non-gendered indigenous ceremonial space.
Grimm: Students can look forward to making new connections and feeling safe in our group. Even if you only come to the meetings once or twice, you can still find and make friends or create a network of people you feel comfortable and safe around. Through our group, you also have opportunities to fight for your rights and freedoms safely, and you will always be able to find people to meet up with after protests to ensure you are not attending alone.
Kane: We also promote many volunteer and hiring opportunities for queer-friendly spaces. We are constantly boosting career opportunities for students.
SAMU: What would you say to someone considering joining a Student Group?
Grimm: Join as many groups as you want. You can always leave if it’s not the right fit, but you can attend so many events and make many new friends. I think it’s a great opportunity here at MacEwan.
Krain: It’s a crucial part of the university experience. Without it, you’re only getting the academic experience, so it’s important to try it out and have a fun university experience.
Kane: Yeah, sometimes we even pay for you to have a good time since we’ll give you pizza and have opportunities to win prizes at our events. And if you miss having field trips from school, student groups is definitely the place for you.
SAMU: Is there anything you want to say or promote to students before we end?
Grimm: I’d like to say we are thankful for all the support we received over Pride Week. We can’t wait to welcome new members with open arms whenever and wherever they join.
Kane: Whenever you choose to come to us, we’ll be here for you, waiting with open arms, and it doesn’t matter if it takes until your last day of being a student. We’ll be here for you.
You can connect with InQueeries on social media through Instagram @inqueeries.
Follow SAMU on social media through Instagram (@sa_macewan), Twitter (@SAMacEwan), and Facebook (Students’ Association of MacEwan University) to stay up to date on the latest events, programs, and services from your students’ association.
