Orlando 2016 Shooting
My name is Wayne Glass (He / Him / His pronouns) and I am a Residence Hall Director at Macalester College.
For six years of my ten years in Florida I lived in Central Florida (Ocala, Florida); about an hour-and-a-half from Orlando, Florida. Therefore, access to Pulse Nightclub was easy and something that I took advantage of when I was in the area. Several times in 2013/2014 (pre-and-post-undergrad) my friends and I visited Pulse to engage in a sanctuary that is a queer-centric club. I recall feeling free as I navigated the multiple layers of Pulse. Free from the outside world; a world that is oppressive, homophobic, misogynistic, racist, mean, and hateful. Free to be who I always have been and who I wanted to be. Free to be unapologetically queer and quirky. Free to dance with my friends and self-created family; gay, straight, lesbian, queer, transgender, questioning, or otherwise. Free to enjoy drag queens from Rupaul's Drag Race. Free to just 'be'.
As a person who is a part of the LGBTQ+/Queer family, I call upon my friends, peers, mentors, and colleagues to continue to advocate with and for, as well as support those who identify with the LGBTQ+/Queer family. We need our allies more than ever.
In Love and Pride,
Wayne M. Glass