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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WSU chapter.

The eastern side of Washington is known for many things; whether it be agriculture, small towns, or the dry climate, the eastern side of the state has a lot to offer. The queer population is definitely not one of the things you may associate with eastern Washington, or Pullman specifically. As a lesbian, I was warned by multiple people not to live or go to school on the east side. After announcing my commitment to school in Pullman, many of my friends who attend college on the west side of the state told me to reconsider. I heard stories of brutal homophobia and exclusion that Pullman students had endured simply because they identified as queer. I was horrified that I had chosen eastern Washington as my home for the next four years and desperately regretted my choice to come here. 

I’m here to tell you that the stories I was told have not been my experience at all!

Upon first going to freshman orientation, I immediately met groups and groups of queer students. We all discussed our fears of being on this side of the state and how we were prepared to “act straight” in order to fit in. We quickly realized that once you get to college, no one cares! The way you dress, look, and identify does not matter as soon as you step into college. Everyone is here to get a degree, so the reality is that no one has the time to care about other people and how they identify. In learning this, I was instantly soothed and decided that I would be nothing but my full authentic self here. Once I moved onto campus and started to meet more people, at least 1 in 4 people I met identified as bisexual. This was another major relief as now I had people to relate to and that I knew were going through a similar experience as me. I did run into a few people, like all queer people do, who would give me strange looks and a weird comment if I mentioned that I’m a lesbian. After some time, these run-ins became less intimidating and humorous to me because, like I previously said, no one cares, and if you do care you need to spend more time studying and less time caring. 

I share this for the new and soon-to-be queer students who want to make Pullman their home but do not yet know how they will fit in. As someone whose job allows them to work with incoming students every week, I’ve heard the same horror stories that were told to me to be passed down onto the next class of freshman. My favorite part about my job is letting these students know that there are so many people just like them here, even when it sometimes feels like there isn’t. I like to think that I have an excellent gaydar that allows me to spot a new queer student and subtly bring up queer life to them. Our campus has so many groups and clubs to get involved in that are centered around being queer. It may be hard to see from the outside, but once you start to look around, there are so many opportunities for queer students specifically to find their place. I won’t say it’s always been easy, but I can say being on the east side is better than I expected it to be.

Ellie McClary is a writer at the Her Campus Washington State University chapter. She has always had a passion for writing and is excited to spend more time focusing on that passion. Ellie is from Olympia, Washington and attends the Washington State University's Pullman campus. Ellie is majoring in nursing with a minor in health and society. She is a Cougar Connector on campus and gives tours to prospective/incoming students. When Ellie is not in Pullman, she spend her time working as a daycare teacher who specializes in teaching school aged children. When Ellie is not working, she loves to talk about LGBTQ+ activism, environmentalism, and animals. She tries to do things that make life more exciting and will go on any adventure that comes her way. She always says that any experience, good or bad, makes a great story for later!