Center uses bagels to form community

As a Bloomington Bagel Company worker set down a plate of sliced bagels on an empty table, students began to congregate at the bakery on Dunn Street.

Friday Night Bagels is a monthly event sponsored by Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services and BBC from 6 to 8 p.m. The turnout for Friday Night Bagels this semester has been inconsistent, junior Alyssa Maurer said.

On Friday, BBC was more than half-filled with attendees by 6:30 p.m.

While Maurer said the free bagels are a big draw, the event is a way for GLBT students to socialize in a comfortable environment.

“It’s a place where queer people can go,” Maurer said. “There aren’t many places like that.”

Maurer promotes Friday Night Bagels through the GLBT SSS group Girls Like Us, a support group she helps facilitate for lesbian and bisexual women age 25 and younger.
Junior Teeghan Doherty said she had not heard about the event until this year. She said she received an email from GLBT SSS about it, and attendance was reinforced through GLU.

“It seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Doherty said. “I will definitely keep coming.”
Sophomores Scott Runner and Alexandra Dye were also first-time attendees. Runner said he came for both the bagels and the company.

Two more Friday Night Bagels will take place this semester Nov. 4 and Dec. 2. All students are welcome.

“It’s a nice, welcoming environment,” Runner said. “I just thought I’d get acquainted with the GLBT community.”