Ink and paint splatter over the ground, as the echo of laughter fills the courtyard. People are roaming around and complimenting each other’s handiwork, and smiles are flashed in returned. Everyone is at ease; there’s no tense feelings or anxious thoughts. It’s just a group of friends, mingling and creating memories together.

On Thursday, Oct. 19, the Y.E.S.S. Equality Club met together to make their own tie-dye T-shirts and discuss issues such as gender identity and sexuality. The club is an organization meant to provide safe havens for teens that associate with being LGBTQ, and it is also open to any affiliates.

“We couldn’t get enough funding for official club shirts just yet so we thought it would be fun to be able to hand out and tie-dye shirts together,” sophomore Atlas Hines said. “I wanted us all to do that as a group. I definitely think there is some bonding going on. Anything we do like this is going to help us in the future to help the community.”

The club is planning many outreach opportunities and hopes to spread awareness locally.

“We were talking about doing some volunteering with Equality Texarkana,” Hines said. “I know that we have a booth at the next pride parade for Texarkana; I believe it’s in June. At first, we had a problem with people coming up and signing up as a joke, threatening to come to the club and ‘out’ people, it was a mess. I definitely want to stress the fact that although it is definitely for LGBT students, it’s more than that. It shows awareness for different races and cultures and all kinds of people.”

For some members in the group, they feel like they have a community they can rely on, and friends that they can trust.

“I love the group, I’m an advisor for it,” sophomore Malachi Miller said. “I help Atlas with everything and I am also on the gender board, the sexuality board and the mental health and wellness board, which are all topics that we cover. It’s really great because I feel like I am a part of something. I identify as ‘a-gender,’ which isn’t very common, especially not in Texas. So finding this group of people who are really accepting was a really big deal for me. I feel like it’s helped a lot with my self confidence and helped me kind of feel more comfortable and safe, and to help me feel less alone.”