The history of LGBTQ+ community on campus is long and detailed. Over the past 19 years, the Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) has provided a space for these students to thrive without fear of persecution for who they are.
The students agree that the GSC has truly become a place for uniting students and staff to provide peer mentoring, academic and social support for all students.
The impact of the space on students is palpable. These oft-marginalized students can find platonic love within the walls of the GSC, under the doting eyes of the staff within the center.
“The GSC has given me an opportunity to meet people and make connections that I otherwise wouldn’t have had I not gone to that space. Having the GSC is a way to have a safe space to meet people from the community,” Patrick Henkle, a fifth-year OU student, said.
Freshman student Lynx Mallett echoes Henkle’s sentiments.
“I have made so many friends here, my life was so boring before I came here. I had like one and a half friends,” Mallett said. “But then when I came here, that number has increased by a significant number.”
The GSC provides a unifying environment to students both in and out of the space. The GSC allows students to grow themselves, and their identities, in a space built to support them. It also serves as an advocacy hub for students who may not have someone advocating for themselves on campus.
One of their instances of such advocacy has led to gender-inclusive housing, as well as the launch of the newest housing opportunity, Lavender Village. These opportunities allow students to room with people who share similar life experiences and provide a welcoming atmosphere for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The GSC is a space where students can find the love that only a community can offer them and a space that will continue to open its doors every day to spread such adoration and acceptance to all, regardless of gender identity or sexuality.
The GSC is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with extended hours on Wednesday being 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The center is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. The GSC can be found in room 104J of North Foundation Hall.
