WWC Queer Community: A Conversation with JoGo
Al Stone-Gebhardt | November 15, 2023
Immediately upon sitting down with Jonathan “JoGo” Gonzales on the patio of the Warren Wilson College’s (WWC) Owl’s Nest Cafe, it became clear why so many people gravitate toward him. As a self-proclaimed “queer elder,” his demeanor was welcoming and impassioned.
Gonzales moved from California to North Carolina, anticipating the role of director of student activities but — to his surprise — additionally taking on the role of crew supervisor for the Queer Resource Center (QRC). He remarked that the role complements his passion for inclusivity and that he enjoys the physical space of the center.
Gonzales devoted time to answering questions I had regarding queer community on campus
We sat down at a small table, facing one another as I pulled out my notepad. Gonzales brought his steel water bottle, decorated with stickers in a fashion faithful to his views, with “abolish the police” and rainbow flags facing me.
In a soft tone, Gonzales spoke about the history of queerness — something he feels passionate about — and the queerness found at WWC.
In the mid-to-late ‘80s, WWC saw a wave of dissatisfied students calling for a positive shift in queer life on campus. The college’s first queer club was born out of this dissent, committed to bringing queer culture to campus, including drag performances and promoting queer visibility.
Today, the main queer hub for students is considered to be the QRC, located in room 007 of Sunderland’s basement.
On campus, you can find the QRC hosting fun events and social gatherings, bringing together hordes of students — from seniors to freshmen — in fellowship. However, the effects of community these events create cannot be understated, especially in a queer-friendly space like WWC.
For historically marginalized communities, a sense of connection and purpose reduces stress, isolation and raises awareness of systemic issues. The LGBTQIA+ community celebrates sexuality, gender, individuality and inclusion.
Communities are groups of people who share a common value or an interest. They create a sense of purpose, strengthen identity and offer a system of support. Communities also boost empathy, mental health, provide a sense of belonging, create different viewpoints and enable better communication. Community fosters strong relationships.
“Being in a community is important,” Gonzales said. “Having those connections is important. Time and time again, throughout history, we see conflict happen — we see communities being threatened. And if relationships [and connections] are already established, it's easier to show up and support one another.”
Unlike a range of other campuses and institutions, queer students are part of the majority at WWC at around 50 to 60 percent of the student body, allowing the college a unique position to spearhead efforts of inclusivity and destigmatization.
However, the campus is far from breaking down societal heterosexism, the phenomenon whereby society privileges cisgender individuals and heterosexuals.
Queer students above all understand that, upon entering a space, their identity will determine their treatment. Even as college campuses tend to be more radical social spaces, queer people are underrepresented and marginalized.
Nonetheless, the abundance of gender-neutral restrooms and ubiquitous encouragement of respecting pronouns is a stark contrast to the common experience of queer students.
In a continual effort to create an environment of queer joy, the QRC recently held a myth-busting presentation on pronouns and names in alignment with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion(DEI) efforts, Gonzales explained.
“The burden can often fall on queer and trans students to feel like they need to educate their professors and supervisors [on how to be an ally],” Gonzales said. “I don't want that to be the case for Warren Wilson students. I want to take on as much of that as possible as the supervisor of the QRC so that students have time for queer joy and don’t have to worry about the burden of correcting their professor about their pronouns or telling somebody to use the correct name for the nth time.”
I grew up trans in a very conservative state, recognizing gender binaries and societal roles. To me, WWC is a safe haven for its progressive views. Even for other students who grew up in queer-positive spaces, to be part of the majority is still mind-boggling.
Gonzales testifies that students and staff are constantly at work to better create what he calls a queer-serving space. Even then, he does not promote himself or his work, as though the current QRC was not something he catalyzed, but instead, the students and crew members orchestrated organically.
Gonzales and I sat at the little table for almost an hour as he filled me in on WWC’s queer successes, its future as a queer school and Asheville’s place in it all. In order to progress as a campus and see further queer successes, Gonzales urges unity and community among queer students, staff and alumni.
Chiefly, he wants to stress just how crucial student voices are to promoting positive change.
“Student demands have created spaces like the Queer Resource Center, [as well as] spaces for Black, Brown and Indigenous students across the country,” Gonzales said. “Student voices and students working together to organize and articulate what it is that they need really goes a long way.”
For students like me, where queer community and support were few and far between — and all the more sacred — WWC’s campus climate envisions a world where queerness is not that, where queerness is common. The campus has created a safe space for queerness but still lacks in areas of queer serving.
But the role of the queer leader and queer elder, like Gonzales, like the first brick thrown at Stonewall, must be met with community efforts. Queer leaders enable us to feel safer in the knowledge that we are not alone, but it is all queer students and allies that comprise the basis for creating substantial change.
Institutions promote heteronormativity and we cannot be satisfied with the complacency of pronouns and gender-neutral restrooms. WWC can continue its efforts of aligning policy, programming, as well as pedagogy toward queerness to support its student body.
Queer community is something we can only strive to better. With efforts by students, faculty and alumni, WWC can continue to lead in queer representation and create a space welcoming to all identities.