Not many people of color attend lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer events because LGBQT minorities are not really discussed among African Americans, said LeBrian Patrick, sociology graduate student and PRIDE coordinator.”It is not a topic of comfort,” Patrick said. “Even at those meetings, there is still a big gap between the different ethnicities there. It’s not that the topic doesn’t exist, it just isn’t discussed, and that is why students aren’t involved.”With this concern in mind, PRIDE was created this semester. The group held its first meeting Monday at the African American Cultural Center, and 14 people attended. “We would like to create a space where minority LGBTQ students feel comfortable at LSU and feel like they have an organization and not everyone is overlooking them,” Patrick said.Planning upcoming events, determining advertising strategies and discussing the issue of race in social settings were the main topics of PRIDE’s first organizational meeting.The organization is a joint project of Spectrum, the LGBTQ student organization, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Safe Space Campaign, which works to create a safer environment for LGBTQ students on campus.Patrick said representatives of Spectrum and Safe Space asked him to lead the new organization.There is even a racial divide at Splash, a local bar that caters to the LGBTQ community, University alumnus Stephan Taylor said at the meeting.Patrick said he expects supporters to make up the majority of the people involved in PRIDE until the mission of the organization reaches minorities around the University, and his expectations applied to the first meeting.”There is an absence of LGBTQ people of color showing up at Safe Space and other events, so we know we’re not serving everyone as best as we could,” said Bruce Parker, Safe Space coordinator and education graduate student. Parker said the lack of diversity prompted him to rethink his advertising strategy for the organization. Advertising through Facebook groups will only address those visibly present in the LGBTQ community, so word of mouth and low-key social events would be a more effective way to reach those not yet willing to openly identify with the LGBTQ community, he said. PRIDE is not yet an official University student organization, and becoming official depends on member participation this semester, Patrick said. Parker said the lack of representation among LGBTQ minorities is not a problem unique to the University. “There are people of color not involved in many places, and it’s our responsibility to aggressively work on that,” Parker said.—Contact Margy Looney at [email protected]