MU Spectrum aims to recruit more members
By Jillian Law
[email protected]
Madonna University currently has over 50 registered student organizations (RSOs) open to students. These organizations range from academic groups like the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) and National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) to more social clubs like The Grind and Peace of Mind. However, one club many Madonna students may haven’t heard of is MU Spectrum, Madonna’s LGBTQ+ club.
Spectrum first began Oct. 11, 2011 which was also National Coming Out Day, with a group of LGBTQ+ students who met in the back of the library in secret to vent their frustrations. This group then began to meet regularly shortly after that.
In the beginning, the meetings were held in private, and Spectrum did not become an official RSO until January 2015. Now, however, Spectrum president Kayla Poole hopes to expand the club’s membership and make it more visible and accessible to all students.
“Spectrum is open to all students, but we try to make it a safe space for LGBT students especially,” said Poole, who is double majoring in Sign Language interpreting and Criminal Justice. “For people who are LGBTQ+ on campus, going to a Catholic university means you don’t exactly get that safe space you would at normal colleges so I try to help provide that.”
As part of Poole’s push to increase club membership, Spectrum has become significantly more visible on campus. Spectrum appeared at the RSO Fair earlier this fall, and its flyers can be found around campus.
The club also has an Instagram (official_muspectrum) and Snapchat (mu_spectrum) where students can follow Spectrum and their upcoming events that will include a double-feature movie night Oct. 8.
Joy Oslund, Spectrum’s club advisor, hopes that these efforts lead to the growth of the club overall.
“We’re sort of in a rebuilding stage,” said Oslund, an associate professor and coordinator of Directed Teaching in the College of Education. “We had many people graduate, move onto other universities, or into internships and things where they can’t be quite as involved, which means the goal this year is being very intentional about recruitment and publicity.”
Spectrum’s new visibility on campus may surprise or shock some members of the Madonna community. However, Spectrum has mostly received support from students and staff for its efforts.
“One of the things I found at the beginning is that there are strong allies around the university,” said Oslund. “There are student groups that have been a very good fit for a partnership with us.”
One such partnership includes an annual service project with Campus Ministry to Crossroads in Detroit to volunteer. Spectrum members have also participated in the Interfaith Dialogue group, Better Together, and Poole is in the process of planning a diversity event for some time this year.
For Poole, the goal of Spectrum is to create a safe space that is inclusive to all students and takes into account the various backgrounds they come to Madonna with.
“There are people who came here with and without religion tied to them, and there are people who are still in the closer or didn’t have the ability to learn about our community or just to be around other people who are like us,” said Poole. “We try to make it inclusive, to make all of us just feel welcome.”
For those who may think that Spectrum is out of place in a Catholic university, Dr. Oslund would point them to the university’s own Franciscan values.
“I take very seriously the part of the Franciscan values that says, 'We respect the dignity of every human being', and it concerned me that there were groups that hadn’t always had that kind of respect,” said Dr. Oslund. “I don’t want people in the LGBTQ community to be tolerated. I want them to be celebrated because I think everyone deserves that.”
Any student who wants to get involved with MU Spectrum can follow them on Instagram and Snapchat or email them at [email protected]
[email protected]
Madonna University currently has over 50 registered student organizations (RSOs) open to students. These organizations range from academic groups like the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) and National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) to more social clubs like The Grind and Peace of Mind. However, one club many Madonna students may haven’t heard of is MU Spectrum, Madonna’s LGBTQ+ club.
Spectrum first began Oct. 11, 2011 which was also National Coming Out Day, with a group of LGBTQ+ students who met in the back of the library in secret to vent their frustrations. This group then began to meet regularly shortly after that.
In the beginning, the meetings were held in private, and Spectrum did not become an official RSO until January 2015. Now, however, Spectrum president Kayla Poole hopes to expand the club’s membership and make it more visible and accessible to all students.
“Spectrum is open to all students, but we try to make it a safe space for LGBT students especially,” said Poole, who is double majoring in Sign Language interpreting and Criminal Justice. “For people who are LGBTQ+ on campus, going to a Catholic university means you don’t exactly get that safe space you would at normal colleges so I try to help provide that.”
As part of Poole’s push to increase club membership, Spectrum has become significantly more visible on campus. Spectrum appeared at the RSO Fair earlier this fall, and its flyers can be found around campus.
The club also has an Instagram (official_muspectrum) and Snapchat (mu_spectrum) where students can follow Spectrum and their upcoming events that will include a double-feature movie night Oct. 8.
Joy Oslund, Spectrum’s club advisor, hopes that these efforts lead to the growth of the club overall.
“We’re sort of in a rebuilding stage,” said Oslund, an associate professor and coordinator of Directed Teaching in the College of Education. “We had many people graduate, move onto other universities, or into internships and things where they can’t be quite as involved, which means the goal this year is being very intentional about recruitment and publicity.”
Spectrum’s new visibility on campus may surprise or shock some members of the Madonna community. However, Spectrum has mostly received support from students and staff for its efforts.
“One of the things I found at the beginning is that there are strong allies around the university,” said Oslund. “There are student groups that have been a very good fit for a partnership with us.”
One such partnership includes an annual service project with Campus Ministry to Crossroads in Detroit to volunteer. Spectrum members have also participated in the Interfaith Dialogue group, Better Together, and Poole is in the process of planning a diversity event for some time this year.
For Poole, the goal of Spectrum is to create a safe space that is inclusive to all students and takes into account the various backgrounds they come to Madonna with.
“There are people who came here with and without religion tied to them, and there are people who are still in the closer or didn’t have the ability to learn about our community or just to be around other people who are like us,” said Poole. “We try to make it inclusive, to make all of us just feel welcome.”
For those who may think that Spectrum is out of place in a Catholic university, Dr. Oslund would point them to the university’s own Franciscan values.
“I take very seriously the part of the Franciscan values that says, 'We respect the dignity of every human being', and it concerned me that there were groups that hadn’t always had that kind of respect,” said Dr. Oslund. “I don’t want people in the LGBTQ community to be tolerated. I want them to be celebrated because I think everyone deserves that.”
Any student who wants to get involved with MU Spectrum can follow them on Instagram and Snapchat or email them at [email protected]