Kinzey Gill

Going to the drive-in theater—pulling into the perfect spot, dropping the tailgate, and setting up the truck bed with a plethora of pillows and blankets before a big-time Hollywood flick airs in the starlight—might soon be one for the history books. Once a common staple of local entertainment, just about 300 drive-in theaters remain in the United States as of November 2022—and only seven in Colorado.

The movies aren’t usually a place you go to be loud and proud—let alone make meaningful new connections. But Benjamin Jackson remembers the first time he was invited to a backyard movie night that promised precisely that. A new resident of Colorado at the time, Jackson had been looking to connect with fellow queer folks living in Denver.

The newly founded student group hopes to grow their numbers and further contribute to diversity on campus Founded in the Spring semester of 2021, The Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) is a student organization at the University of Colorado Denver, led by co-presidents and co-founders Amanda Karimkhani and Iman Salhi. Membership is open to all that are interested. As Karimkhani and Salhi explain, “You do not have to identify as Middle Eastern to be a member of our club.