SUNY Oneonta Pride Week 2016

By Jesus Santana (Oneonta, NY)-- SUNY Oneonta's annual Pride Week is back, and the student associates at the Gender Sexuality Research Center have been working hard to make it an eventful weekend for all Oneonta students to enjoy.

Katie Hebert joyfully jumping out of Red's Closet
Nikki DeFruscio (c)

Every fall semester, SUNY Oneonta holds a Pride Week, also known as SUNY Pride -- which this year runs from Wednesday, October 19th through Saturday, October 22nd. As stated by Dylan Negrin, 21, GSRC Student Associate, "the theme of this fall's Pride Week is Education Through Experiences." A variety of events and talks will be held throughout the week to promote a safe and educational space for members of the LGBTQ community and anyone else who would like to show support and learn about what it means to be an Ally.

This year's events include the signing of Red's Closet in the Schumacher Quad (Wednesday), a Town Hall Talk where the Orlando shooting and the Presidential Election will be discussed before the floor is opened up to questions (Friday). We'll also be having guest speakers Kat Blaque and Tabias Wilson speaking on what it's like to be a transgender person of color. To top it all off, the annual Drag Ball will take place with guest star Jacqueline Frost closing the weekend on Saturday night.

Similar to SUNY Pride Week, SUNY Oneonta celebrates Pride Month in the Spring semester, which runs all throughout the month of April. Throughout this month, more events and talks are held to help educate Oneonta students on the issues that the LGBTQ community face in hopes of promoting a more inclusive campus for all.

What it means to be an Action Hero, Jesus Santana (c)

SUNY Oneonta is one of the four SUNY colleges that have a Gender Sexuality Research Center -- or something of its kind -- that serves as a safe space for members of the LGBTQ community and Allies to openly express who they are and/or learn about sexual orientation, gender, sexual expression, etc. That means that there are 60 SUNY campuses without a designated office for students who identify as a member of the LGBTQ community to visit for advice. Given the privilege that Oneonta students have, it is no wonder why there are so many Action Heroes and Heroines walking our campus every day.

SUNY Oneonta's GSRC