Complete with a rainbow backdrop, tie-dye, live music, food and a bouncey castle, the University of Rhode Island celebrated National Coming Out Day with a resource fair on Friday.
The URI Gender and Sexuality Center did most of the event planning, according to Zoey Evora, the building manager for the GSC. It was held on the Quad.
“[The point of] coming out day on the quad is to help students feel comfortable and supported in the URI community, especially first-years who may be coming from states that might not be so accepting,” Evora said.
Many resources are available on campus for LGBTQ+ students, according to Evora. In Roosevelt Hall, there is a queer women’s support group, and the GSC has Q-Squared, an empowerment group for queer and transgender people of color.
The GSC also has a community care closet and food pantry where students can sign into the center and take food or clothes for free, according to Evora.
“Tthe GSC] just hold a bunch of events, and that I would consider to be a resource in itself, by bringing people together and creating a sense of belonging on campus for students,” Evora said.
The GSC will be hosting a 50th anniversary screening for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” later this month and Queer Prom next semester.
“The Gender and Sexuality Centers’ doors are always open,” Evora said. “We’re always looking for people to get involved in our spaces, and we are always looking for new members of clubs and organizations that are both in the center and outside of the center.”
In addition to the GSC, “Coming Out Day on the Quad” included booths for the Women’s Center, the Division of Student Affairs, Health Services and more.
Resources outside of the university, such as Newport Mental Health, were also there. Newport Mental Health is a mental and behavioral health care organization, according to Josh Kurman, the organization’s community relations manager. It is also a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic designated by the federal government.
Newport Mental Health offers a variety of resources, such as health care and substance use programs, according to Kurman. They also offer services for mental health, street outreach, veteran services and youth and young adult services.
Newport Mental Health is a Blue Cross Safe Zone; they provide support and a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, according to Kurman. The organization also offers walk-ins from Monday to Friday.
“We know how hard it is to get health care [and] how hard it is to get mental health services in the community,” Kurman said. “So anything we can do to make that accessible [and] affordable, we’re trying to do to make sure we get out there.”
Additional resources are available through the Newport Mental Health website, according to Kurman. 988 is a 24/7 nationwide lifeline that provides similar support and mental health services.
Student Support and Advocacy Services is an office on campus that also provides support for LGBTQ+ students, according to Jacqui Springer, the assistant dean of SSAS.
SSAS provides people with a space to talk about concerns and situations outside class that might impact school life, according to Springer. There is also support for specific concerns that LGBTQ+ students may have, such as health care or name changes.
“I think that URI says that everybody is included, and that’s true until it’s not,” Springer said. “I think our institution needs to pay closer and better attention to the examples that people are bringing forward about ways in which they’re not feeling included and taking an actual deeper look at, ‘Why is that happening?’ And addressing those specific things.”
SSAS can connect students to people they will feel comfortable speaking to, according to Springer.
“We [at URI] can have events, we can share resources, but resources are only as powerful as students knowing where to find them and when to utilize them,” Springer said.
LGBTQ+ students are also welcome at the Hillel on campus, where there are resources such as Keshet, which helps students learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and Jewish life, according to Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Marta Ginzburg.
The Wanderground library, a lesbian archive with material that celebrates lesbian history in New England, was another organization at the fair.
To stay up to date with LGBTQ+ events on campus, visit the GSC’s URInvolved page.
