In the dark basement of the Oakland Center, the bright rainbow of colors that spill from the Gender and Sexuality Center may seem like a beacon of light to some.

OU’s GSC offers a safe place for members of the OU community to come for education or services centered on gender and sexuality, ways for students to volunteer and even a place for students to just hang out.

The program that the GSC is most known for, Grace Wojcik, coordinator of the GSC said, is the S.A.F.E training it offers. This workshop provides the community with the information and tools they need to be an ally to the LGBTQ community.

“(The S.A.F.E. training) basically teaches terminology issues and ways to help with LGBTQIA community,” Mark Martinez, the student assistant of the GSC, said. “It promotes understanding, advocacy and just general safety.”

OU faculty and staff who chose to go through the training often have stickers outside their office to signify that they are a safe person to talk to.

The next S.A.F.E. training will take place Oct. 19 from 8-10 p.m. in the Vandenberg lounge.

In addition to offering resources to those who would like to learn more about the LGBT community, the GSC serves as a women’s center. The center offers safer sex materials, such as condoms and lubricants, in addition to information on family planning resources or domestic and sexual assault resources.

Staff members and volunteers of the GSC may also refer students to professionals at the Graham Health Center if they need to talk to someone or have any health issues to address.

The GSC also houses a lending library where students can come to read feminist literature, information on the LGBTQIA community and Occult Studies books.

Besides volunteering, students may get involved with the GSC through a myriad of student organizations. These include Students Advocating Gender Awareness (SAGA), the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), Transcend — a student organization for transgender students and their allies ­— sex., the Occult Studies student organization, and Steampunk. The unofficial student organization Stand-Up, a group that will aim to reduce incidents of domestic and sexual assault, will also begin meeting in the GSC.

Regulars of the center also like the sense of comfort that hanging out in the GSC brings.

“It’s so important for women and LGBTQ students to have a place where they can meet other students who share their own experiences, get resources, and most importantly, gain acceptance and encouragement,” Wojcik said.

Nikole Cooper, 18, is a member of all of the organizations that meet in the GSC. She enjoys being in the GSC because of the accepting environment.

“I’m kinda shy,” Cooper said. “I feel like anywhere else on campus I would have a lot of trouble talking to people, but it’s just really easy to talk to people here.”

She also has an unconventional reason for coming to the GSC

“I also have sleep problems, so because everyone here is so respectful, this is actually really a good place for me to come and take a nap,” Cooper said.

Martinez believes that the center is a good place to take a break from the stresses of school too.

“This is a really big commuter campus, obviously,” Martinez said, “so people within the community and even people outside the community, sometimes just want somewhere where they can relax and not just be going to and from classes.”

Martinez also said he believes that having the door to the center always open allows people to come in and relax regardless of whom they are.

The GSC is located in the basement of the Oakland Center.

Lindsey Hampton

Age: 22

Major: Japanese

Sexual Orientation: Asexual

On what asexuality is:  “Asexual means that a person doesn’t feel sexual attraction.  However the problem is that people think that sexual attraction is the only type of attraction, so there is a lot of misunderstanding there.  I’m one of the asexuals who experiences romantic attraction where I would like to be involved with someone in a romantic relationship, like you know, boyfriend or girlfriend, it’s just I’m not interested in the sexual aspects of the relationship.

On needing to justify her orientation: “The most frustrating thing is that people don’t believe you (when you say you’re asexual).  There is a lot of ‘this does not exist, this is not right, you can’t be this way.’  You get the very invasive questions of ‘have you been abused, have you been sexually molested, is there something wrong with your brain,’ and it’s terribly frustrating because even if those things do apply, it doesn’t have anything to do with being asexual.”

JD/Dylan Duvall

Age: 21

Major: Double major in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies

Sexual Orientation: Queer

On coming out to friends:  “I came out to my friends as a lesbian when I was 17, I just told my family that I’m a lesbian almost a year and a half ago.  My friends were supportive, as long as I was happy and they could approve who I was dating … my friends are very supportive of my transition, and right now, that’s more than I could ask for.”

On coming out to family: “My family was okay with it, except for my parents. When I came out to them as a lesbian, they reacted very poorly. They called me harsh names like “faggot” and told people I wasn’t their daughter anymore. The process of coming out is scary, but honestly I wouldn’t change it for the world. I was tired of hiding from who I truly am, and now I can shine and be true to myself.”

Avery Clarke

Age: 19

Major: Pre-Nursing

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual (if forced to identify)

On what pansexuality is:  “What I like about is it’s more, like, based on personality of people, like you can like anyone.  Like I don’t necessarily like (any certain gender), but you can have a personal or sexual relationship with anyone.  It’s more based on person versus gender.”

On coming out to her mom: “It was emotional, but she was really accepting.  Like really, ‘I still love you, it doesn’t matter who you are,’ you know, like ‘you’re still my daughter and I still love you, I will love you no matter what’, basically.  That was really cool for me.  It was like a big weight off my chest.”

Kari Edgerton

Age: 24

Major: Women and Gender Studies

Sexual Orientation: Prefer not to identify

On being an ally: “To be completely honest, I don’t really think there should be a need for allies.  I think there should just be people and everybody should just be able to get along.  It’s important to me because I had a really hard time growing up.  I was bullied a lot and it would have been so fantastic if I could have just had that one person that I could go to.

On the GSC: “It’s really important for anybody who is questioning their sexuality, who’s, you know, unsure about who they are it, it’s nice for them, well for all of us, to have a safe space to go.  And we should totally have a fulltime staff member in the GSC.”