With the opening of the new Student Services Building, the GLBT Resources Center was renamed the LGBTQ+ Pride Center.
Located on main campus in the Student Services Building, the LGBTQ+ Pride Center provides resources, support and other forms of aid for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The renaming of the resource center was several years in the making, said Heather Wheeler, the director of gender and sexual diversity at the Offices of the Dean of Student Life.
“GLBT was a very common way to refer to the community when the Center was founded in the mid-2000s,” Wheeler said. “Now it’s much more common to refer to the community as LGBTQ+, so we wanted to make sure we were reflecting that and that the name of the Center conveys a positive connotation, so that’s why we chose ‘pride.’ We want to really make it obvious that this is a center that really values everyone and is going to support and affirm them.”
With the new location and name change, LGBTQ+ Pride Center Coordinator Tori Jackson said it is a very pivotal time for the Center. Resources for LGBTQ+community and allies are more accessible, which allows for more growth within the Center. Jackson said along with several events and resources in the works at the Pride Center, the Center offers a program in partnership with a counseling and psychological service called Let’s Talk.
“Let’s Talk is a program that allows students to come in if they’re having struggles or a bad day, and they don’t need full on counseling, but need a professional to talk to,” Jackson said. “Our hours are Monday from 1 to 3 p.m. on a come-and-go basis. You don’t have to make an appointment.”
Industrial distribution sophomore Zachary Carson said the new name helps to represent all the progress Texas A&M has made for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think that renaming the LGBTQ+ Pride Center was a smart move,” Carson said. “It helps to unite the community and emphasize that sense of pride. It also makes the Center feel more welcoming, like you can go in and be celebrated and supported a bit more.”
For more information on the LGBTQ+ Pride Center, visit www.studentlife.tamu.edu/lgbtq.