Twenty percent of California’s 2004 hate crimes were related to the victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender. Ten percent happened at a public school or on a college campus.

One Sacramento State program hopes to reduce those statistics, reported through the Attorney General’s office, and educate the campus by establishing a Pride Resource Center.

The Sac State Pride program hopes to make a difference.

The Pride program, which helps provide support and education on gay issues, was established in 2004 and has been operating in the Women’s Resource Center.

Vice President of Student Affairs Lori Varlotta met with the Queer Straight Alliance and members of Pride to discuss the need for a larger space for the growing program. Varlotta said she and the Pride program hope to open the resource center in Foley Hall by next semester.

On Jan. 29, the California State Student Association passed a resolution in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and inter-sex student communities, urging the creation of resource centers for these communities on college campuses.

“Space is a resource that is high in demand for the Pride students,” Varlotta said.

Over the next two years, Pride will have to monitor the usage of the center by the campus community and determine if additional space is needed for the program, Varlotta said.

Pride Director Bonnie Sugiyama said the creation of a resource center will not only help in providing a physical space for the program but will also separate the program from the Women’s Resource Center, giving the program its own identity.

For most people, coming out is difficult, and by having a Pride Resource Center, students who need support will find it, Sugiyama said. “It can be hard for a gay male coming out to go to the Women’s Resource Center,” Sugiyama said.

According to the resolution, students who come out to their family can potentially lose emotional and financial support.

With support services concerning gay issues varying from campus to campus, the student association board urged the CSU Board of Trustees to foster resource centers, academic programs and classes that “analyze and celebrate” sexual orientation and gender diversity.

With a resource center, Pride plans to provide better resources to the campus community by offering gay workshops and support on gay issues; incorporate more gay studies courses into the curriculum; and increase gay representation on campus committees.

Sugiyama said the gay community is a microcosm of the greater society, composed of different genders, races and classes. “And it is important that more of us are heard,” Sugiyama said.

Before meeting with Varlotta, the Queer Straight Alliance chapter on campus was planning to petition campus President Alexander Gonzalez to provide a resource center on campus.

Cynthia Dela Cruz, president of the Queer Straight Alliance, said the organization has been getting signatures for the petition since February and the center can be a resource to more than just the gay community.

“Someone will be there to help students with their questions regarding queer issues,” Dela Cruz said.

According to the resolution, Pride and the campus community are sorely in need of a center. While operating out of the Women’s Resource Center, Pride has expanded and needs more space to grow.

With added space, Sugiyama said the center can expand on its services. This includes “coming out” issues, applying for grants and scholarships, awareness of legal rights and providing more visibility to the speaker program offered by the Pride program, where guest speakers discuss gay issues ranging from laws to social issues.

With the resource center in place, instructors and other teaching institutions will be able to have easier access to arrange guest speakers to come to their classroom to speak on gay issues. “The goal is to provide a safe and comfortable place to ask questions,” Sugiyama said.

Helping Sugiyama in developing some of the programs offered by Pride, was Nancy Tubbs, director of the UC Riverside Queer Resource Center.

The resource center at Riverside has provided more than 150 training, events and educational seminars in 2005, Tubbs said.

“The goal of the center is to provide education, support and advocacy for the campus community regarding sexual orientation and gender identity,” Tubbs said.

Tubbs said she couldn’t stress enough the importance of having a physical space with a professional staff as a resource to the students.

The UC system is privileged to have resource centers on their campus, Tubbs said. She hopes the CSU system continues the trend of providing better services to the students.

“State college students deserve the same support that the UC system provides,” Tubbs said.

In 1993, Riverside’s resource center became the first professionally staffed campus office of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual resources in the state of California.

Today, there are centers at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, USC, , Cal Poly, Cal Pomona and Stanford.

More than 180 campuses with resource programs exist nationwide.

Matthew Beltran can be reached at [email protected]