Jackson Harris, junior business major and intern at the PRIDE Center, will be speaking during a discussion series this semester that will educate Sacramento State students on the underrepresented “queer” community on campus.

The term “queer,” said Harris, refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning and ally community, or LGBTIQQA (LGBT) community.

These discussions, hosted by the PRIDE center, allow students to hear about members of the LGBT community on campus, Harris said.

Harris hopes that by having the students comes together, the PRIDE center will see how effective the center is being and ways in which they can increase representation and acceptance on campus.

“What this campus is slightly lacking is the representation of these individuals, especially since they are everywhere,” Harris said.Harris said everyone deserves to be represented and to have their issues feel important.

“Since we are a student center, there is a big emphasis on the students. We are here for the students and we want the best possible experience for them,” Harris said.

Even though organizations are momentarily nonexistent for some LGBT groups, Scanlan urges people who fall under these categories to seek representation through the PRIDE Center and the Queer Straight Alliance Club.

“By just getting involved with the programs already on campus, we can work to improve the campus climate,” said Nicole Scanlan, co-coordinator of the PRIDE Center.

Scanlan said the first discussion, held Tuesday, focused on what the center does, who they are, events they are hosting and how they can better the campus.

“We are trying to gather some information on how effective we are being as a center and what the student body would like to see from us in the future,” Harris said. “The LGBT community can help improve representation by providing their opinions at the discussions and ways they feel Sac State can improve.”

All members from the LGBT community are urged to attend these discussions, including straight individuals or “allies.”

Allies are people who support the LGBT community, Scanlan said, who act as advocates and support the LGBT community without being a gay or lesbian person themselves.

“We are trying to bring more awareness to everyone, rather than just the lesbian and gay people in the LGBT community, even the allies,” Scanlan said.

The second event, on March 23, focuses on domestic partnership versus marriage, specifically in California.

Scanlan said she feels strongly about the discussion series because she has personal experience in the field.

“I am legally married in the state of California, but I am not federally recognized as a married person,” Scanlan said.

The third and final discussion, on April 21, will focus on members of the LGBT community in the Greek system at Sac State, Jackson said.

Joel Saslaw, senior history major, will be speaking at this discussion since he is openly homosexual in his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilom.

The goal of this discussion, Saslaw said, is to let people in the LGBT community know there are fraternities and sororities that welcome all people, no matter the sexual orientation.

“No organization should be concerned about someone’s sexuality,” Saslaw said. “Someone’s sexuality is their own business and they should not be judged or treated differently because it might be different.”

There are Greek organizations, Saslaw said, that support members who are LGBT.

“We want to help you find that Greek organization where you feel safe,” Saslaw said. “Some organizations have anti-discrimination clauses right in their national bylaws.”

Even though Sac State could improve on representation of LGBT members within the campus community, Scanlan and Harris agree that Sac State is on the right path for LGBT representation.

“Sac State is one of the best places to be queer and feel welcome in the community,” Scanlan said. “We are definitely making steps on building a community that accepts everyone for who they are, regardless of sexual orientation.”

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