No matter where one lands on the political spectrum, it has become common knowledge that our country has been caught in some divisive times recently. This often makes minority groups feel especially marginalized, and the community centers around NC State recognize this. Their common goal is to support and offer resources to all students, and the GLBT Center is no exception.
“Essentially what we do is create space for students to engage in dialogue around systems of oppression that exist for our GLBT students, faculty and staff,” said Preston Keith, the assistant director of the center. “The space is open to anyone who is interested in supporting [the GLBT community] or is a member of the GLBT community.”
Keith said that the current political climate creates a need for advocacy and a safe haven for those of marginalized groups, so the GLBT Center works to provide the necessary means to accommodate those in need. No one is excluded from all that the center offers.
“We look at identity across the spectrum of genders, across the spectrum of sexualities, across the spectrum of other marginalized identities, and we really strive for intersectional social justice,” Keith said. “We do that in a lot of different ways, but education is a key component.”
In January, the GLBT Center will celebrate its 10th anniversary at NC State. Talk of the GLBT Center began in August 2007, and a grand opening was planned for January 2008. However, the center itself was not operating until that April — since then, it has seen a lot of growth.
Hannah Williamson, a fourth-year studying animal science, said she has been involved with the GLBT Center since her first year at NC State. Beyond increased campus engagement, there has also been physical growth due to the center’s recent move from its original office in recently demolished Harrelson Hall, to a larger space on the fifth floor of Talley Student Union.
“There is a bigger sense of community in the bigger center,” Williamson said. “When I first started, we were in Harrelson and then we moved [to Talley Student Union]. People can hang out here, and there’s just a better sense of community.”
The programs that the center offers span from the GLBT Symposium for incoming first-years to Lavender Graduation for graduating students. October is LGBT History Month, November will see Transgender Awareness Week, January will be Social Justice January and March will have a Week of Action for advocacy. In addition, the center hosts many workshops for education on current issues facing the LGBT community.
“I think that our broader campus community is very much interested in getting involved and creating these equitable spaces,” Keith said. “The GLBT Center has been a key space on campus for people to engage in this dialogue, to talk about ways they can be better advocates.”
The opportunities for involvement do not exist only for students, but for faculty as well.
“A lot of our workshops are geared toward faculty and staff in the sense of creating these equitable places within your classroom, within your office, within your departments,” Keith said. “[We are] recognizing that faculty and staff have a key role in maintaining the culture of support, and broadening that network of support that exists for our students.”
Williamson also noted the connectivity that the GLBT Center maintains on campus.
“They’re very connected and have a strong support system,” Williamson said. “It’s really nice to see.”
Sometimes, though, there is pushback from certain members of the surrounding community. Keith explains that being exposed to new ideas can be uncomfortable, and that facilitators of these ideas are can expect resistance.
“In every program that we have, we may be introducing concepts that may be new to people,” Keith said. “With that, there’s naturally some hesitancy to try and understand it. As facilitators, we work with that and work through that resistance to either plant seeds for people or to raise new awareness in that moment.”
Although working through differences can feel awkward and uncomfortable at first, Keith shares that these experiences are needed for growth.
“It’s not unexpected,” Keith said. “Creating opportunities to engage in these educational moments and being able to sit in that uncomfortableness has been a challenge but also an important part of the process.”
The main mission of the GLBT Center is to build awareness, to encourage equality and to offer safe spaces for all. Many of the center’s educational programs seek to accomplish this goal, exemplified by Project SAFE training and the GLBT Advocate Program.
“This center is a space for students to feel safe, to feel affirmed, to feel validated in their identity,” Keith said. “I constantly hear from students that if the center wasn’t around, they don’t know if they would be around. So I definitely see the student experience as being one that is enhanced by the center and one that is supported by the center.”
Community and conversation are recurring themes for Keith, and he emphasizes the resources that are not exclusive just to members of the GLBT community. The responsibility of equal opportunity lies with all of us.
“This is a space to ask questions, so if you want to know more, come and find it here,” Keith said. “We can get you connected in any way that you need, we can get you the tools that you need to be a better ally, to be a better advocate, to dismantle any type of oppression that exists and live in a very free world.”
NC State’s GLBT Center is located in 5320 Talley Student Union, and is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
