Nearly 75 students gathered Wednesday night to participate in the first University-sponsored Rainbow Rush.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Women’s Center hosted the event that aimed to inform gay, lesbian and questioning students of the various University and community programs that welcome them. Between 50 and 75 students attended the event. The event was born out of concern over the lack of programming available on campus for LGBT students.
Curtis Parker, coordinator of Cross-Cultural Affairs, said the office hopes to continue hosting this event each year.
Chaundra Allen, OMA director, spoke at the event about the Safe Space program. Safe Space, headed by OMA, trains both students and faculty on how to offer support to gay students.
The more than 200 Safe Space hosts are students or faculty who offer a welcoming environment for gay or questioning students. A host can be anyone who has a physical space on campus. The “safe space” is designated by a triangle sticker on the door of the room.
Tamara Jarrett, director of the Student Recreation Center, said the University caters to all students.
“When unique markets come up we try to reach out and provide for them,” Jarrett said.
Daniel Guillot, president of the University’s only gay organization – Gays, Bisexuals, Lesbians, Supporters United – also addressed the crowd.
“Our aim is to get people networking and to get people comfortable with being who they are,” Guillot said. “We work with Safe Space in order to create a fun, welcoming, safe environment.”
The event also featured presenters from the community. A representative from the Metropolitan Community Church of Baton Rouge spoke about the religious opportunities available for gay men and lesbians in the city. This christian church primarily reaches out to the LGBT community. It has more than 1,200 churches worldwide, with Louisiana branches located in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
“We would love to have more of a presence on campus,” said Jonathan Hannette, a clergy candidate for the church. “We’re proud to be an alternative option for members of the gay community.”
Students who attended the event were appreciative of the opportunity to hear about all of the “gay-friendly” organizations and events.
“We need more events like this, more organization for the community,” said Chris Norwood, political science freshman. “Every other minority group has events and clubs. This shows that the University is open.”
—Contact Joanna Brown at [email protected]