Sonoma State University is home to a variety of different students and it is important that the school creates an environment where everyone feels valued. The university has taken great steps to ensure members of the LGBTQ+ community feel included, evident not only in the planning of last week’s events, but also the care put in throughout the entire school year.
Oct. 11 was National Coming Out Day, so Sonoma State planned a week full of LGBTQ+ targeted events. Queers with Careers was the first of these. Students were given the chance to visit the Student Center, gain insight into the working world from queer and trans professionals from acrosss Sonoma County, and find specific LGBTQ+ resources on campus. Events like these are informative and provide an important niche view for LGBTQ+ students.
This was only the beginning of the festivities that were thought of during this week, unfortunately, the PG&E power outage resulted in some of these being cancelled. The HUB and the Confidential Victims Advocate organized the Hookup Culture and Queer Community Dialogue, which was set to discusss hookup culture for members of the LGBTQ+ community and how to safely navigate ambiguity and keep sex safe and consentual. Students would have had the chance to attend Out of the Closet, Into the Bedroom: Queer and Trans Informative Sex Education and become more aware of safe sexual practices for an array of different sexualities and identities.
An event like this is extremely valuable as standard sexual education typically does not cover or even mention homosexual sex or different gender identities. There aren’t many spaces where LGBTQ+ students can learn about sexual health specific to them so it is encouraging to see Sonoma State give its students a chance to explore this topic. Kevin Rose, a physician’s assistant that specializes in trans health, would have led the workshop and shared her new curriculum on queer and trans inclusive sexual education.
Finally, the week’s fun was supposed to come to a head in the form of a National Coming Out Day Photoshoot. Students could head down to the Seawolf Plaza and listen to Afro-Latin Funk band Sang Matiz while enjoying a photo booth along with a mountain of rainbow gear. This event would have been an excellent chance for LGBTQ+ students to meet and bond over a fun shared experience. It is a shame to see the outage affected some of these fun plans, but hopefully Seawolves see events like these return in the future.
Luckily, Sonoma State is always celebrating its LGBTQ+ students, not just this past week. There are a handful of ways the university includes the LGBTQ+ community. Our school has a Queer Student Alliance, that creates a safe space for queer students to find support from each other and plan various events meant to empower LGBTQ+ students. Whether they are putting on an event like “Welcome Gaybies” or promoting a show like “Kinsey Sicks: Naked Drag Queens Singing” the group is always working on making campus a more inclusive and exciting environment.
The Safe Zone program is put on every month on the 7th and is meant to educate Sonoma State students, faculty, and staff about the LGBTQ+ community. Safe Zone, attempts to foster an environment where everyone is respected regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The program provides “ally training” to those who wish to better understand and help LGBTQ+ students along with a comfortable space for LGBTQ+ students to talk about whatever may be troubling them.
We also can see visible evidence of Sonoma State’s efforts to be inclusive in the art exhibit in the library. Queeries: Queer Artist and Identity is an art gallery that features various LGBTQ+ artists. The library has planned to show this from Aug. 19 all the way until Dec. 13 and is meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. On Oct. 3 the library hosted a reception where students had the opportunity to meet the artists who created the works displayed.
One does not have to look far to see Sonoma State’s efforts in making the campus a fun, accepting space that caters to all its students, rather than a select few. Whether it’s a fun get-together, an informational meeting, or an art exhibit, Sonoma State continuously puts on events that show love and support toward the LGBTQ+ community. Hopefully, we continue to see the university put on fun events that make our LGBTQ+ students feel comfortable.
