About 25 members of campus-wide LBGT caucuses gathered Monday in the basement of Student Services for the Queer Potluck, sponsored by Spectrum.

Spectrum President Amara Vear said the group decided to hold the event because they knew some people wouldn’t be able to make it home to their families for Thanksgiving. All LBGT caucuses on campus and the public were invited to attend, she said.

“Spectrum’s really welcoming,” Vear said. “It gives a lot of people, especially those from smaller towns, the chance to meet their peers.”

The group holds weekly events from watching queer movies to analyzing the history of the LBGT community and Vear said she hopes the potluck becomes an annual event.

Although Middleton didn’t have a dish to contribute, he was happy that the group decided to order Chinese food.

“There’s more people than I thought would be here already,” he said.

A similar group, Respecting Individuals on Neutral Grounds, or RING — the LBGT caucus for the Red Cedar Neighborhood, was a way for finance junior Sabrina Yap to get more involved on campus while supporting something she believes in — that people should have the freedom to love whomever they choose.

Yap said she likes the social support the caucuses provide, educating people so there are fewer misunderstandings about non-majority sexual and gender identities.

“It provides a place for people within the community to feel accepted,” Yap said. “They know people won’t view them negatively.”

The campus caucuses serve as a safe place for anyone who has felt harassed and serves as a “family of sorts,” said Ian Morrison, a political science and sociology senior and member of People Respecting the Individuality of Students at MSU, or PRISM — the LBGT caucus for the South Neighborhood. When he first came to MSU, he joined PRISM as a way to have a community-building experience and meet his peers.

“It’s really important to create a separate community because we are a minority, but we aren’t invisible,” Morrison said.