For the first time ever, Sacramento State’s Greek community co-sponsored PRIDE Week to boost participation and create a collaboration with school entities and student organizations.

“This is an opportunity for our centers to collaborate with student organizations and to make PRIDE Week a success,” said Gaby Bermudez, a student programming assistant for the Multicultural and Pride center.

PRIDE Week was created to honor the nationwide PRIDE month in June during the academic year.

A series of events will be taking place between April 7- 11 to celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning community. The events will also encourage others to support the LGBTQ community while informing them about issues like discrimination and inequality.

Bermudez said sororities and fraternities were asked to co-sponsor in three different ways, which include handing out flyers about the LGBTQ community during the events.

Another way would be by stepping, which is a type of dance where rhythms and sounds are created through footsteps, spoken word and hand claps or by performing their salute to help pump up the crowd.

They can also just attend the week’s events and help spread the word while encouraging other students or Greek members to attend.

“I hope incorporating Greeks will help this year’s PRIDE Week to be successful, because in the past our turnout has not been so great,” Bermudez said. “This will not only help our center, it is also a learning experience for volunteers and anyone who attends.”

All events will have different perspectives on the LGBTQ community.

Some events include a Social Justice Coffee Hour which will be about LGBTQ Latinas/os in the Multicultural center on Thursday at 11 a.m. There will also be a panel about the LGBTQ community in science fields called “Science with Pride” in the Hinde Auditorium on Friday at 2 p. m.

Delta Lambda Phi, a Greek organization for gay, bisexual and progressive men, tabled on Monday’s event “Ally Day Fair and Panel,” an event meant to show others how to become allies with the LGBTQ community.

“I think it’s great that the Pride and Multicultural Center reached out to us,” said president for Delta Lambda Phi Duke Cooney. “Greeks have a lot of school spirit and are very involved with their community.”

Cooney said it is a win-win situation for both groups because it is an opportunity for others to know there is a gay, bisexual progressive organization for men while PRIDE Week gains a bigger turnout.

Other organizations like Sigma Omega Phi, a multicultural sorority, also participated in Monday’s Ally Panel and has been helping inform other students about the events going on for the rest of the week.

Vice President for Sigma Omega Phi Darline Ochoa said they will be attending many of the events throughout the week such as the “Paris is Burning” film screening in the Hinde Auditorium on Wednesday at 6pm, and in the future they hope to receive the same support from the centers.

“We are more than happy to help and participate,” Ochoa said. “As a new organization on campus,we know how difficult it can be to gain support and encourage students to attend our events. This collaboration is the beginning of a new relationship between campus groups.”