Outspoken President & Vice-President

Hi all! My name is Emily Lu, and I’m a second-year Graphic Design BFA student. I grew up in a small town in Mississippi and currently live here in Rochester. This year, I’m the Director of Finance for OUTspoken. I love finding opportunities to be involved on campus - I’m currently on the e-board for Asian Culture Society, TAW, and AWM, and in the past, I’ve served as freshman representative for WOESS and ACA. Outside of school, I like to bake, sing jazz acapella (with Grace Notes acapella group!), and explore artist and farmers' markets.

My name is Anand Caloh, and I am a second-year Electrical Engineering BS/MS student. I’m from San Diego, California, and am a third generation member of the Queer community! I have two moms, who raised me alongside my three dads. Growing up in the Queer community, I have always been proud of my Queer identity, and am excited by the opportunity to give back and contribute to the community via OUTspoken. In my free time, I like cross stitching, crocheting, playing video games like Stardew Valley and Hades, and attending on-campus Drag shows.

Community involvement on campus is our primary focus, and we aim to increase engagement both on and off campus. We will direct our efforts to all levels of engagement: from small, consistent community-building activities to large multi-organizational events. As a campus in Rochester, we understand the rich cultural and historical significance of queerness in our local community, and we hope to spotlight this by connecting with off-campus local events and organizations that highlight the LGBTQ+ community.

One of our highest priorities is our affiliate clubs; their specialized communities are often our first level of engagement with queer students, and they directly contribute to creating memorable experiences and close-knit communities for those students. Because of this, we want to provide opportunities for collaboration and extend support to them through sharing resources such as supplies, funding, and collaborative planning.

As leaders of OUTspoken, we are proud of the gender affirming resources supplied by our office, and we’ll continue investing in free resources for our community. However, many students may not know the extent of what OUTspoken provides, and certain resources currently require students to be available to come to our physical office hours. When offering these resources, we understand that awareness and ease of access is critical. By setting up public tabling events to hand out resources and increasing visibility through promotional materials, we want to proactively reach out to the student body to connect students with what they need efficiently and effectively.

Finally, we plan to intentionally highlight intersectionality in our programming and actions as an organization. No one exists in a vacuum, and by intentionally focusing on the nuance these identities can bring, we hope to help students feel more seen and welcome everywhere on campus.