On Friday, Oct. 28 at 6 pm, students gathered in the Women’s Studies Center for “Queer Quest,” hosted by director of LGBTQ+ Initiatives Lyosha Gorshkov. The quest began with the story of L and I, two lovers who hid their story across campus in order to ensure peace and refuge for themselves. Today, their whispers haunt Colgate’s grounds, and their legacy lives on in a lost treasure buried in honor of those whose stories remain untold. The goal of each group was to learn about their journey across campus, appreciate their love story and ultimately find the buried treasure. Each group was given a map and a first clue, and with that, the journey to uncovering the lost story of L and I began. 

The treasure map included several spots on campus that were renamed to correspond with what they used to be in L and I’s journey. East Hall was the stone in the quarry, Chapel House was the field of dreams and Lawrence Hall was the meadows. At each destination, each group was given a task to complete in order to move on to the next location. At Chapel House, groups were given a quiz on LGBTQ+ trivia. At Coop, groups were given darts to throw at a unicorn dartboard and they had to score 13 to move on. In Lawrence Hall, groups were given a puzzle of LGBTQ+ art to complete, while back at East Hall, groups had to match LGBTQ+ flags with their meanings. After all the tasks were completed, groups were given a clue that led them to the “caves,” which was the basement of McGregory Hall. The buried treasure was decorated with candles, spiders, skeletons and orange string lights. Groups were able to choose from prizes ranging from LGBTQ+ books and flags to balloons and Halloween decorations. The competition to find the buried treasure raised tensions between the groups, but in the end, the friendly rivalry allowed each member to learn something new about the LGBTQ+ community. 

Sophomore Georgette Manos talked about her favorite part of Queer Quest, and how it pushed her group members to work together to solve the tasks. 

“My favorite part of [Queer Quest] was that I got to meet new people, and it pushed us to think outside of the boundaries [during] the activities. My favorite activity was the flag identification, and I just had a really fun time learning about the LGBTQ+ community.” 

Sophomore Ryan D’Errico spoke to the competitiveness of the quest, but how at the end of the activity he recalled a fact he learned that astonished him.

“I liked the trivia activity because I was really surprised to learn [new things, like] that Wisconsin was the first state to decriminalize same-sex couples. It was really exhausting but fun running around campus in a rush- even though we lost,” D’Errico said.

Sophomore Julia Goosay enjoyed discovering new places across campus with new people, and the high stakes of the race to find the buried treasure. 

“My favorite part was being able to go to new places across campus, and learning about new information about the LGBTQ+ community. It was really competitive but I enjoyed each activity and it was just really entertaining and high energy,” Goosay said. 

At the end of the evening, each group was able to choose their prize from the buried treasure, marking the completion of the quest. The legacy of L and I lives on, and each group will take with them the memories of their journey at Colgate. More events hosted by LGBTQ+ initiatives can be found on the Colgate Events Calendar.