All Roads Lead to the Union: Newsletter
Visit the LGBT Resource Center
After recently completing their annual Gay-La and Silent Auction event, the LGBT Resource Center is set to have yet another busy year of programming, developing initiatives, and serving as a permanent welcoming space for students. As with past years, this year’s Gay-La and Silent Auction, organized by the LGBT Resource Center staff to raise funds for student scholarships and emergency funds, featured a large guest list, a silent auction that included items donated by local business, a catered dinner with a program that celebrated student scholarship recipients, and live entertainment!
Housed on the fourth floor of the Union building room 409, the LGBT Resource Center features a space where students can study, utilize the computer lab, or just hang out. In addition to every-day resources, the center also hosts ongoing events, including Fab Friday, hosted every Friday from 3-5PM. Fab Friday is a laid-back event where students can enjoy snacks, play games, and get acquainted with campus culture. Due to this program’s successful past, Fab Fridays will be carried into the upcoming spring semester. Twice per semester, the center also hosts Queer Conversations – an event at which a staff member within the office hosts discussions about areas of interest within the queer community. Some past discussions have featured art as resistance and queering intimacy. On November 14th, in Parlor A, their Queer Conversation will be about the practice of reclaiming slurs within the LGBTQIA community. On November 30th, the LGBT Resource Center will pair with Black and Pink, an online organization aimed at supporting incarcerated LGBTQIA individuals in hosting a holiday card decorating party.
Workshops and panels are also components that make the LGBT Resource Center a hub for continuing education. Different departments can collaborate with the LGBT Resource Center to host department-wide Gender and Sexuality Workshops (GSW’s) for faculty, staff, students, and even off campus. The LGBT Resource Center also maintains an emergency fund for which students can apply in order to obtain help with an unexpected financial problem that can create a barrier to their education. The LGBT Resource Center also has an annual scholarship that they offer every spring. The LGBT Center’s busiest time could be classified as the annual Pride Week held in October, highlighting various campus-wide and departmental events to bring awareness and recognition to the LGBTQIA community. For more information about joining the annual Pride Week planning committee as well as the LGBT Resource Center emergency fund program, scholarship opportunities, and programming, please visit lgbt.utah.edu or call 801-587-7973.