The weeklong Pride Week event features several activities aimed at increasing the attention paid to LGBTQ issues around Grounds. Scott Rheinheimer, coordinator for LGBTQ student services, said he is currently working with the administration to address several topics, including gender-neutral housing options and co-ed bathrooms.
Saturday marked the beginning of Pride Week 2014, hosted by the University LGBTQ Center. The event runs through Friday and features 11 separate activities celebrating the diverse aspects of LGBTQ communities.
Highlights for the week include an LGBTQ Career Panel, Safe Space training, a talk from asexual activist Julie Sondra Decker and the Day of Silence, where students will abstain from speaking to represent the silence felt by many LGBTQ individuals. The week will wrap up with the Over the Rainbow Paint Fight Saturday at 3 p.m. at Nameless Field.
QSU Vice-President Abe Wapner, a fourth-year College student, said Pride Week is an opportunity to bring LGBTQ issues to the foreground of dialogues across Grounds.
Founded under the Office of the Dean of Students in 2001, the LGBTQ Center advocates for inclusion of sexual and gender diversities through programs, outreach and services intended to support the advancement of LGBTQ individuals.
Rheinheimer said he hopes events such as Pride Week will provide some type of cultural education to the general community, as well as support for LGBTQ and non-identifying students.
Two of the community’s current concerns include bathroom usage and housing. Rheinheimer said some LGBTQ students feel anxiety when deciding whether to use male or female bathrooms.
The Center is working to address LGBTQ living situations by looking into inclusive gender-neutral housing on Grounds. Rheinheimer pointed out that the challenge will be making the housing inclusive and secure while ensuring that it is not segregated.
Gay Perez, associate dean of students and executive director of housing and residence life, said the University does not currently have an explicit policy about gender neutral housing.
The inclusion of LGBTQ students within traditional university organizations such as fraternities, sororities, and other visible groups around Grounds is another central goal of the Center.
Rheinheimer said initiatives such as Safe Space training in the Inter-Fraternity and Inter-Sorority Councils are steps in the right direction, but there are still problems that need to be addressed.
The admissions office is currently looking into adding a question under the demographics area of applications which would allow students to identify their sexual orientation.
Roberts said the Admissions Office has reached out to LGBTQ individuals in the past six months to work on engaging with, enrolling and supporting LGBTQ students.