{"id":1872,"date":"2024-01-29T10:30:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T18:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2024-08-13T13:57:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T20:57:18","slug":"pride-center-safe-spaces-skill-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/pride-center-safe-spaces-skill-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon State\u2019s Pride Center offers safe spaces, skill development"},"content":{"rendered":"

A variety of affirming, beneficial services are accessible to LGBTQIA+ students online
\n<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/h2>\n

Community.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a versatile word, simultaneously a thing and a feeling. It\u2019s a group of people with common interests and also a sense of fellowship with others because of those shared interests.<\/p>\n

The Pride Center<\/a> at Oregon State University is a community where that dual nature is on display. It provides programs and services to members of the LGBTQIA+ community while fostering safe environments where those same students \u2014 learning on campus and online through Oregon State Ecampus \u2014\u00a0feel a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the type of multilayered support the Pride Center has been offering since 2001. And in its quest to improve its service to students, the center is exploring methods to offer even more tangible benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cLately we\u2019ve been focusing on not just the experiences or issues we face as LGBTQIA+ people, but also what skills we need to develop to really build a strong community wherever we go in life,\u201d Pride Center director Cindy Konrad says. \u201cWe started working with staff on conflict resolution skills, having strong communication skills and setting personal and professional boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been powerful to see how that\u2019s helped the staff grow. I\u2019m excited to be able to share these things with the student body.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a number of reasons why OSU Ecampus students and graduates should connect with the Pride Center. And speaking of numbers, here\u2019s a numbers-filled look at the center \u2014 accompanied by comments from Konrad \u2014 and its broader community.<\/p>\n

\n

Follow the Pride Center on social media<\/h3>\n

You can engage with Oregon State students and staff in the LGBTQIA+ community and stay informed of happenings on the Pride Center’s social channels.<\/p>\n

Instagram \u00bb<\/a>
\nFacebook \u00bb<\/a>
\nTwitter<\/a> \u00bb<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

3 ways (among others) to engage<\/h3>\n

1. Students and Pride Center staff increasingly interact in group and one-on-one settings via Discord, a popular online messaging platform<\/strong>. The pandemic made this a necessity at first, but it\u2019s been adopted for future use. \u201cIt\u2019s a really good place for Ecampus students to get some hangout time with people who identify similarly.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Are you a creative person? Check out to the center\u2019s biannual literary zine<\/strong>, \u201cPapercloud<\/a>.\u201d You can read students\u2019 writings and view their artwork \u2014 and submit your own to the non-competitive, fully online journal.<\/p>\n

3. The pandemic also helped the Pride Center learn how to better host events that are inclusive of those who can\u2019t come to campus<\/strong>. \u201cA new goal is to make in-person events hybrid events that are also streamed online via Zoom. We\u2019re super excited to have people participate from a distance.\u201d<\/p>\n

1 vibrant LGBTQIA+ partner community<\/h3>\n

While the Pride Center serves students of all backgrounds, the folks at Oregon State Diversity and Cultural Engagement created SOL<\/a> \u2014 an initiative that plays an active role in improving the university\u2019s climate for LGBTQIA+ people of color.<\/p>\n

SOL is based at the Pride Center on the Corvallis campus, but it works hand in hand with all seven of OSU\u2019s cultural resource centers. \u201cIt\u2019s a connector in all of DCE that really creates specific space for queer and trans students of color. SOL provides opportunities for multiracial folks to interact with people who have similar experiences at a predominantly white institution and help one another explore their identities.\u201d<\/p>\n

5 tips on how to be a good ally<\/h3>\n

Konrad offered these guidelines on how folks outside the community can support and advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cHumility is a really good trait in somebody who\u2019s trying to be an ally. Recognize you\u2019re engaging with a community you don\u2019t belong to.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. \u201cBe a good guest in a space that\u2019s not yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. \u201cListen and be willing to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. \u201cDo the work of learning, not just by asking members to tell you or teach you things.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. \u201cRecognize that you are going to screw up. That\u2019s a normal part of engaging in a relationship with any human. What matters is how you handle that and that you work to do better the next time. And consider how to repair that harm. That\u2019s especially important for an ally who may still be learning about the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

20+ years of service worth celebrating<\/h3>\n

The Pride Center has been a welcoming environment since 1981, first in person and also now online. The center’s fast-growing alumni group, OSU Rainbow Connect<\/a>, \u201cis a great way to continue to participate after you graduate,\u201d Konrad says. \u201cOur alumni are everywhere, and it\u2019s really cool to see people from different places still engaging with us. They don\u2019t have to stop participating when they move.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Oregon State’s Pride Center provides programs and services to members of the LGBTQIA+ community while fostering safe environments where those same students \u2014 learning on campus and online through OSU Ecampus \u2014\u00a0feel a sense of belonging. And in its quest to improve its service to students, the Pride Center is exploring methods to offer even more tangible benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,672,676],"tags":[262,264,643],"class_list":["post-1872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-learning-experience","category-why-osu","tag-cultural-resource-centers","tag-diversity-and-cultural-engagement","tag-pride-center"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Cultural-resource-centers-Ecampus-news-744x478-210408-Pride-Center-1.png?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-uc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1736,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/cultural-resource-centers-online\/","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"position":0},"title":"Oregon State’s 7 cultural centers build community near and far","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"January 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"We work endlessly to find new ways for online students to connect with the larger OSU community from a distance. 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