GLBT Awareness Week, created by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, occurs the first week of April to spread awareness and education about the LGBTQ+ community.
The GLBT Awareness Week began Monday and will run through Friday with a variety of events, some of which are more socially oriented, while others are more academic and educational. The first week of April is also the historic week of the recognition of the first LGBTQ+ campus student organization at Texas A&M, which was a decision made by the Supreme Court in the 1984 case, Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University.
Chad Mandala, program coordinator for the GLBT Resource Center, said GLBT week is focused on learning and sharing experiences.
“I think, in a lot of ways, this is sort of a way to open up around what the lived experiences of students, faculty and staff are on this campus and to really have an opportunity to be in community together as one big, authentic Aggie family,” Mandala said. “It’s a way to come out and participate in a variety of activities.”
Mandala said the multitude of events during GLBT week are a way for people to open up to more ideas in a variety of environments.
“There’s all sorts of ways to showcase the variety of experiences that exist in the LGBT community that I think is often lost behind a monolithic image that we paint of folks in the community,” Mandala said.
Courteney Youngs, psychology senior, said GLBT Awareness Week is important to her because of the progress A&M has made towards being a more accepting campus.
“For me, considering that last year was the first year A&M got taken off the [list of] top 10 unfriendliest campuses for GLBT people in the nation, there is a long way to go for our university in accepting queer people and just being friendlier and being a good place, a good safe-haven for queer Aggies,” Youngs said.
Youngs said she believes campus becoming a safe place for people in the A&M LGBTQ+ community is an important step in the right direction.
“There’s no reason we should feel unsafe at a college that talks so much about being an Aggie family,” Youngs said.
Students interested in participating in the GLBT Resource Center beyond GLBT Awareness Week can access the GLBT Resource Center from Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Student Services Complex at White Creek, which is open to all students.
“I think that GLBT Awareness Week and the GLBT Resource Center are for everyone, not just folks that identify as part of the community,” Mandala said. “The resource center is here to support every Aggie, regardless of how they identify.”