Photo by Davis Kinch
Finding a way to fit in and belong is vital for college students, especially for women and those who identify with the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Office of Culture and Climate opened up two new spaces on Wednesday, the LGBTQIA+ Kaleidoscope Center and the Women’s Center in the Student Center basement, rooms 11 and 10, respectively.
The office hoped to create a safe space for women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community due to a limited number of dedicated spaces available to them.
During the opening, the LGBTQIA+ Kaleidoscope Center offered a variety of activities such as making customized pins, as well as coloring sheets as a way of giving attendees the chance to converse and bond with each other.
The space also offered resources that attendees may need, such as brochures with contact information to places such as the non-profit organization Central Illinois Friends.
“We hope to host events that the [LGBTQIA+] community can come to,” sophomore UX design and psychology double major Ellie Diggins said. “But, until those events pop up, we are here to support them and advocate for them.”
The Women’s Center provided similar things to the LGBTQIA+ Center with additional personal care items.
The center was started by women for women and offered a variety of different games as well as coloring sheets for attendees. They also offered access to numerous other organizations they may want to learn more about.
“Both of these spaces represent bringing together a community, because we recognize that there is a gap in our women identifiers and members of the LGBTQ community,” sophomore criminology major Brea Montgomery said.
The opening of these spaces is significant as it now provides students on campus that identify as LGBTQIA+ or as a woman with safe spaces.
