Ben Poole returned to Elon’s campus last fall ready to create a culture of activism and mutual accountability after attending Campus Pride’s Pride Camp, a summer leadership program for LGBTQIA college students.
After spending a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina last spring, Ben Poole returned to the United States and attended Campus Pride’s Pride Camp, a summer leadership program for LGBTQIA college students.
He had a particularly profound experience in learning more about the unique challenges facing the transgender community and returned to campus this fall excited about creating a culture of activism and mutual accountability on campus. His work focused on two primary goals: creating connections between LGBTQIA college organizations in North and South Carolina and advocating for the addition of an optional self-identification question on Elon’s admissions application.
In April, Poole presented at the Out & Greek Conference in California. His presentation, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Queer Secrets of the National Pan-Hellenic Council,” explored the limits of hyper-masculine and hyper-feminine stereotypes in Greek organizations at the national level. His hope is to leave Elon with the tools to continue developing as an aware, safe campus.