Pride Center Provides Empowering Foundation for LGBTQIA2S+ CSUN Students 

By Analisa Venolia

With increased laws policing queer and trans bodies on a national level, spaces where LGBTQIA2S+ people feel safe and can thrive are a lifeline.

The Pride Center is a welcoming environment for LGBTQIA2S+ students, faculty and staff at CSUN. As a vital part of the University Student Union, the center advocates for the safety and respect of all campus community members through programming and educational outreach. For many students, the Pride Center is a place where they feel affirmed and supported.

“When you’re a part of the [queer] community, sometimes it can be dangerous to live authentically,” said junior psychology student Anthony Flores. “At the Pride Center, you can let your hair down and be you without worrying about being judged or looked at funny.”

Junior TV production student Jennifer Shaw stated, “With the current political climate, the Pride Center is especially necessary. It gives people a space to feel trans or queer joy on campus.”

Manager of the Pride Center, Martel Okonji, affirmed the importance of a safe space for LGBTQIA2S+ students on campus. 

“Representation matters,” they said. “For students, knowing that their lives, experiences, and identities are validated and having a space where those identities are celebrated is critically important.”

The Pride Center does more than provide a safe space, it also empowers students like Flores and Shaw to become activists on campus and in their own communities.

Flores stated, “The Pride Center allows me to refresh, giving me a strong foundation to be able to go out and take on the world. It may seem like such a basic thing, but it means so much to have a space like that.”

Shaw is the president of the Trans Wellness Alliance on campus, whose meetings are hosted at the Pride Center. The Pride Center also facilitated Shaw’s attendance at Creating Change, a national conference on LGBTQIA2S+ rights.

“I learned so much and built so many connections,” said Shaw. “I met people from across the country and heard what their challenges are. We came up with ideas on how to create change all together.”

Donations to the Pride Center will enable the center to continue this valuable work.

“As we know, students are the pipeline to advocacy efforts for future generations,” said Okonji. “Donations will give us the ability to continue equipping students with tools to support their advocacy efforts and ensure that they can bring those skills and tools to their workplaces, their careers or to our future government, and create more safe spaces.”

Your support will allow the Pride Center to empower future students in their advocacy, both on campus and off.

CSUN’s annual Giving Day event on March 5-6 provides an opportunity to support the Pride Center. Gifts can be made online through the Giving Day website once the campaign begins.