Members of Sacramento State’s queer community now have more resources to help them , thanks to the newly opened PRIDE Center, which held its open house on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day.

The center, located in Foley Hall 110, plans to help Sac State’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intergender, queer, questioning and ally (LBGTIQQA) community with issues it may face on campus.

The center aims to help the community by hosting guest speakers and other events, providing information on coming out issues, organizing discussion panels for any classes that request them and offering a library of queer literature that organizers say will help students that may need to do research for a project.

The PRIDE Center also offers an eight-hour training program known as Safe Zone Certification, which teaches faculty, staff and students to be more open and receptive to queer issues by educating participants on terminology, the coming out process and different types of transgender and transsexuals.

Upon completion of the course, trainees are certified and faculty members receive a sticker to place on the door of their offices to designate it as a “safe zone” for a member of the LBGTIQQA community to come for help or to discuss problems.

The Safe Zone program is offered three or four times a semester, and the next session has not been scheduled yet, said Cynthia Dela Cruz, PRIDE Center coordinator.

The center’s organizers hope these resources will increase the success rate of queer students at Sac State.

“We want to make graduation and retention rates for queers skyrocket,” said sophomore Edgar Camacho, a sociology and communications double major and PRIDE Center program coordinator.

Camacho said historically, graduation and retention rates for queer students have been very low, although they are difficult to track because some students are not comfortable with openly admitting they are gay, lesbian or transgender.

Students, faculty and staff were squeezed elbow to elbow at Wednesday’s open house in Foley Hall, a location organizers said was not their first choice.

“It was the only location available,” Camacho said. “We’re just glad to have the center.”

Despite any limitations the location may present, the overwhelming mood at the center’s open house was optimistic.

“I think it’s so important to have this kind of space on campus to affirm the queer population and raise awareness,” said Patricia Grady, interim director of Sac State’s Multi-Cultural Center and director of the Women’s Resource Center. “It will make the (queer) community feel more welcomed,” Grady said.

The PRIDE Center is a part of the Women’s Resource Center, and Grady said the groups will work closely together to co-sponsor events in the future.

Many students also had positive responses to Wednesday’s open house.

“I think (the PRIDE Center) will bring awareness to students,” said graduate student Perla Duarte, a counseling major. “It’s a great idea.”

The PRIDE Center started out as the PRIDE Program in 2004 and was located in the Women’s Resource Center. When it came time for its members to expand to a dedicated location, they found help from Lori Varlotta, vice president of student affairs.

“The LBGTIQQA community had been active on campus for many years,” Varlotta said. “They needed space to support their already existing programs.”

Varlotta said it was easy to provide the needed funds to the group because they already had programs in place to justify the need for more funding.

Varlotta said the PRIDE Center can also benefit straight students.

“(The PRIDE Center) will improve the experience for all students, including those interested as serving as friends and allies,” Varlotta said.

Although the road to having a dedicated room for the PRIDE Center has taken two years, the group has received considerable help along the way from people like Varlotta.

“We’ve always had support from faculty and the administration,” Dela Cruz said.

Although this center is a new addition for Sac State, many other universities already have programs like this in place.

Schools in the UC system are required to have a program like this, Dela Cruz said.

More than 180 campuses with similar programs exist nationwide.

Cody Kitaura can be reached at [email protected]