SAN MARCOS: CSUSM opens gay, lesbian pride center
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students can find support, resources at CSUSM
By ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | ∞
Bryce Manning and Lindsay Riedel watch a documentary titled "Pursuit of Equality" while relaxing in the LGBTQ Pride Center, which opened last week at Cal State San Marcos. Students banded together to get funding to create the center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, as well as students questioning their sexuality. (DON BOOMER / Staff photographer) SAN MARCOS ---- Josh Lovelace knows firsthand why some Cal State San Marcos students might need a refuge on campus.
"Walking through the hallways, sometimes you'll hear people make homophobic comments," the 29-year-old graduate student and openly gay man said last week. "I'll say, 'Hey, did you know that I'm one of them?' And they say, 'Oh, no, I didn't.' "
Lovelace said he's confident enough with his own sexual identity that homophobic comments typically don't faze him. Even so, he said he welcomed last week's opening of a gay and lesbian center on campus because of the support it will provide to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, as well as to students questioning their sexual identity.
Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays in Commons 201 at the university off Twin Oaks Valley Road, the LGBTQ Pride Center's name reflects the population subgroup it is designed to serve.
The LGBTQ acronym stands for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and students questioning their sexual orientation.
Center Director Rodger D'Andreas said the facility offers students with alternative lifestyles a place where they can feel safe, get information and support, and find a sense of community.
That is important, he said, because traditional college campuses have not always welcomed students with alternative lifestyles.
People walking into the LGBTQ Pride Center will find a relaxed and brightly colored atmosphere, with two sets of tables and chairs in one front corner, and a sofa, recliner, TV and DVD player in the other.
Magazine and book racks and a computer that students can use are at the back of the room, along with a desk and computer for the center's staff.
"It's like a sanctuary for people to just be themselves ---- to relax," said Lovelace. "If something's bothering them, they can come and get it off their chests. If something bad's happened, it's going to be a place for them to come and get resources."
D'Andreas said the facility will also be involved in efforts to educate people about alternative lifestyles, organize events that increase the community's understanding of them, and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.
Social justice commitment
The nonprofit center ---- the $1,000 startup cost was covered by student fees and donations --- operates under the umbrella of the student government body, or Associated Students Inc.
The organization has an elected board that saw the center as the next logical step in a social justice commitment that led to the opening of a women's center on campus last year, said D'Andreas, a licensed counselor who is a faculty member in the university's women's studies department.
He said it is impossible to say how many of the university's roughly 9,000 students are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, because the university's admission forms do not ask about sexual orientation.
D'Andreas said lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students have faced relatively few and minor problems because of their lifestyles, with a couple of reports about verbal threats being the worst so far.
Lovelace said students with alternative lifestyles are frequently subjected to jokes and comments targeting them, however.
"It happens in casual environments, it happens when you're just eating lunch, it happens when you're walking through the hallways, it happens in the math lab," he said. "It happens everywhere."
Though most people apologize when he calls them on their behavior, Lovelace said, less confident lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students often are intimidated by such incidents.
An Associated Students survey conducted last year placed the university at the midway point on a five-point rating scale used to determine colleges' friendliness toward students with alternative lifestyles. Survey criteria included academic life, anti-discrimination policies, counseling services and other factors.
Churches involved
D'Andreas said the results show the campus is a little behind other Southern California ones, including the UC San Diego, which got four of five stars, and the UC Riverside, which earned 4 1/2 stars.
"So that helps justify, in part, the need for us to increase our work here and do better work here," he said.
He said the university's commuter campus status also suggests that some of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students may need more support than their peers at other colleges.
"They may say, 'While I'm here on campus I feel safe, and most of my professors are supportive of my identity. But when I go home, I have to be someone else,'" D'Andreas said. "The dynamic is very different from, say, UCSD, where most students live on campus."
The center is getting financial and emotional support from Chalice Unitarian Universalist church in Escondido and Palomar Unitarian Universalist churches in Vista. Chalice spokesman Rob Molek said the assistance reflects the church's philosophy.
"We're a welcoming congregation," he said. "And so we're open to those people that need spiritual support and we welcome those people to our church."
D'Andreas said the center is already getting a lot of use.
"I've seen students in here working on their assignments for class (or) checking out some of our library," said he said. "They come in for meetings. Oftentimes, they'll just come in in small groups as a place to socialize and not have to worry about being vigilant."
The center can be reached at (760) 750-3077.
Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
WHY?? wrote on Apr 12, 2008 6:27 PM:Why do gays need to advertise it?
If you are straight or gay, so be it. What is the point of making it heard?
Just live it!
I'm Sorry wrote on Apr 12, 2008 6:36 PM:but that is a complete waste of money! Doesn't anyone have the sense to stop this madness?
Expat Doug wrote on Apr 12, 2008 8:20 PM:I'm sure the trend will continue, with comments like those from Why? and I'm Sorry....
Here's the deal Why...by opening the center, gays and lesbians are not "advertising" anything...but can the same be said for hetrosexuals, say on TV? If it is revolting for you to see same sex couples holding hands, or kissing, how equally revolting might it be for homosexuals to see a man and woman swapping spit...now, then, if once a TV season you see gay sex, and every 2 minutes you see straight sex, who is advertising?
And to Sorry...to you its a "big waste of money", but do you feel that way about all other extra-curricular activities, or just those that deal with _____(fill in the blank with any social/political/or ethnic group you don't happen to be a member of).
Good for CSUSM for hosting the center...in our little cracker village of redneck thought, its a step forward!
To: Expat Doug wrote on Apr 12, 2008 8:56 PM:How do you like the furnishing in the new center?
Paul wrote on Apr 12, 2008 10:44 PM:I think it's great to see students who are comfortable with themselves getting involved (like Josh Lovelace) and making their university a better place for others who are not yet as comfortable.
Well done!
To: To: Expat Doug wrote on Apr 12, 2008 11:55 PM:Rather than waiting for an answer from Expat Doug, why don't you tell us what you think about the furnishings.
What Next? wrote on Apr 13, 2008 7:13 AM:It never fails to amaze me how Liberal our colleges are and what they choose to do with the taxpayers money which they seem to never have enough of. Instead of a gay center, an Hispanic Center, a Black center etc why can't we stop emphasizing diversity? It divides us rather bringing us together as American's.
What Next ps wrote on Apr 13, 2008 7:15 AM:Separate groups also perpetuates a victim mentality.
Sam wrote on Apr 13, 2008 7:58 AM:I want a transvestite snail worshipers pride club.... come on girls. We finally need to come out of the closet and be heard!
Explain wrote on Apr 13, 2008 8:42 AM:Somebody please tell me that state tax dollars are not being used for this garbag. Teachers being laid off, classes cut and all sorts of other reductions being made in the name of budget deficeits - I'd sure hate to hear that this club is even partially financed by dollars that are not available for cirriculum items.
San Marcos Citizen wrote on Apr 13, 2008 9:07 AM:They should worry more about the 48% of students who need remedial classes. Good ole Diversity U of San Marcos.
Ignorance is bliss wrote on Apr 13, 2008 9:35 AM:If you read the story, student fee money and donations paved the way for this center's existence. Not a penny of state funds were used or will ever be used. This is a case of students providing resources and support for students. Under-represented groups have a right to feel supported and safe, if nowhere else but on their own college campus. It's called social justice.
Mel wrote on Apr 13, 2008 10:03 AM:Sounds like some perennial college students with too much time on their hands.
Sad wrote on Apr 13, 2008 10:05 AM:1. It' sad the administration endorses this 'activity'.
2. It's sad funds aren't used else where for better purposes that support all students.
3. And it's really sad this 'fringe' church supports this cause instead of trying to share the truth with those who are seeking/need it.
John wrote on Apr 13, 2008 10:10 AM:Why is a "pride center" needed for a SEXUAL ORIENTATION? Do heterosexuals have one too? What is it about homosexuality that makes it's "orientees" want to "advertise" how "proud" they are about being gay? Can someone please put up the following banner at this new "pride center" that reads: "SO WHAT? WHO CARES? WHY DOES THE WORLD NEED TO KNOW?"
intolerance wrote on Apr 13, 2008 10:44 AM:Alternative lifestyles are just wrong.
To John wrote on Apr 13, 2008 11:23 AM:Completely agree with you! Why is it so important for gays to tell everyone about their sexual preference! I'm proud to be straight, no one sees or hears me talk about it! I have never seen anyone being chastised for being gay, and I know many. I recently attended my highschool reunion and discovered two of my fellow classmates were gay, who attended with their partners, and appeared very secure with themselves. So what, NO ONE had a problem and everyone was having a great time!
It sounds like gays tend to be more insecure about their sexual preference and should deal with THAT, rather than advertising and crying about how society looks at them. Gay pride parades, etc. Be proud, if you are proud, but we don't need to hear about it, just as you don't want to hear about our sexuality. Just live your lives and be happy!
Stupid Idea wrote on Apr 13, 2008 11:31 AM:This is a complete waste of money. I would not attend this school because of this. What a joke! Go to Hillcrest if you want everyone to know! Stay out of San Marcos!
LisaP wrote on Apr 13, 2008 1:28 PM:It is a sad to say, but this is what higher education has become. It is like this everywhere, not just at CSUSM. Very sad state of affairs indeed. What is happening to our society? This is terrible.
Terri wrote on Apr 13, 2008 2:46 PM:Actually these centers are available for FREE....! In Christ You will be offered abundant Love and mercy, forgiveness, strength and Peace. There are no boundaries when you are in His Love, no walls. When you open your heart and mind to Him you will never feel abandoned no matter what people say or do to you. No CSUSM you didn't accomplish a thing by spending $1000 on a "pride" center all you really did was isolate those students even further. Healing is through Jesus, and you don't need a penny to go to Him. Let us pray. Father in your healing presence I find shelter, comfort and peace. I ask for your Holy SPirit to come into my heart this moment. Allow my heart to explode with Your Divine Love. My Father, teach me Your love. Amen, Amen
Vern wrote on Apr 13, 2008 4:23 PM:This is the straw. There will be no gift next year. I hope others will join me in withholding private contributions and demand that our tax payer funded Universities return to institutions of “HIGHER” learning. This social re-engineering and moral manipulation by the few belongs in private institutes not here. This political correctness is responsible for the noticeable downward spiral in our society and the skills needed to succeed in the information and technical revolution. What a waste of money.
Just wondering... wrote on Apr 13, 2008 4:31 PM:but is some of the animosity pointed at the gay community here little more than a means of the emotionally/sexually unsure to make a statement masking their fear of their own homosexuality by throwing stones at others...seems a typical "Me thinks you protest too much!"...Or the line from, I think it was the movie Car Wash, would be appropriate to some who seem to hate gays because of their own insecurity, when a gay man, tired of being called names, pointed to his adversary and said, "Honey, I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, and more of a woman than you'll ever have!" HMMMMMM.
Michelle wrote on Apr 13, 2008 6:08 PM:Looks like I was fortunate to have left California when it was still a friendly, open-minded place to live. Don't worry Vern and "Stupid Idea".. I'm sure the federal government will give you your money back via income tax after you get legally married (don't forget your insurance benefits and all that) and I'm sure if one of your children ends up living an "alternative" lifestyle and is killed for it, you can sleep well knowing they got what was coming to them. Great to see the US education system at work.. Sheesh..
Respect wrote on Apr 13, 2008 6:54 PM:Gays don't want to "advertize" anything. They just want to be respected and treated equally under the law. Is that too much to ask for here?
(Yes, I am implying that many gays are NOT respected, and that they do not have equal protection under the law.)
Upset wrote on Apr 13, 2008 7:38 PM:This is sad, Who cares if you are gay, we do not. And no monies should be spent on this center, no matter how the money was raised. You just want attention.And you get that in Hillcrest.What is happening to our Country.
No Shame wrote on Apr 14, 2008 6:55 AM:An area where girls can get together and kiss each other. I don't see the problem.
CSUSM Student wrote on Apr 14, 2008 12:44 PM:As a student at CSUSM, I can't describe how much I truly appreciate the opening of such a center. A long time supporter of gay rights, I understand how unsafe it can be to be open and "out" about your sexuality. To the heterosexuals who think this center is unnecessary or a "waste of money" think about how often you can kiss/hug/hold hands with your boyfriend/girlfriend every day. I have a friend who has NEVER been able to safely hug her partner of 15 YEARS in public because she has never felt safe enough to do it. Gay teens have the HIGHEST SUICIDE RATE of all teens. I think this statistic alone shows how unsafe American society can be for gay individuals. People have a right to feel safe. This center not only ENSURES a safe and WELCOMING space for gay individuals on campus, but it also provides community and campus resources to help them find other areas where they are welcome and can safely be themselves. As a straight individual, it is so important for other straight individuals to recognize how deeply important such a safe and welcoming environment such as this center is. If we can be open about our sexuality, why can't gay people? Please help support this center.
Misinformed wrote on Apr 15, 2008 12:15 AM:Just as an ethnic minority in the US is constantly reminded of their difference and second rateness in everything from television to social interactions; the minorities that exist in sexual preference feel a similar dominating force.
Unfortunately it is not common for those of the majority to understand this.
San Diego County wrote on Apr 15, 2008 12:18 AM:We need to go back to basics, Family,Church and our Bible. Not a Gay Center at our Colleges.I'm Sorry. Spend money on Education, not Gay Centers.
Amazed wrote on Apr 15, 2008 6:51 PM:Jeez, such a fuss over one little center. Come on "men", why not fuss over the women's center? And what's wrong with all you white people not fussing over the Cross Cultural Center? News flash folks - Geeks aren't fuss'n over the Sports and Rec center! Well, let's hear it for those independent students not fussing over the Center for Student Involvement! I guess those of who attend CSUSM for fun really don't need the Career Center. And then the English Speaking only people really don't need a Language Learning Center now do they? And for the hundreds of you who can't formulate a sentence...let's just get rid of the Writing Center, shall we? And since most students don't receive mail at the University, we should just do away with the Mail Center too, yeah! What it really boils down to is value. If it's something of value to you, someone you know or someone you care about, then it can be justifed - otherwise it has no value to you and can be deemed unnecessary or a waste. Funny, religion has taught us to love, fear and hate. And as Americans, you need to feel all three to survive. While using such supremacist language, some people have truely missed the mark here. Why can't we support all of the centers and the people who use them? Oh right, because of the second word of the fourth sentence preceding this one, we don't or can't. For those of who are having a hard time figuring out the "word" - perhaps you should visit some of the aforementioned centers, get a clue, and maybe once you develop an appreciation for them, you'll develop an appreciation and acceptance for all the other centers too.
mike wrote on Apr 16, 2008 8:09 AM:All the negative comments prove one thing. Homophobic straight people can't stand it when someone has a different sexuality than their own. Homophobic straight people think like this: "If I'm straight, then everyone else must be straight or they are freaks. I will only accept another human as being equal to me, if that other human has my own sexuality." This is sexual bigotry at it's finest. For those homophobic straight people, I have a message for you. There are over 6 billion people on earth and the world population is growing. It's 2008 and not 1908. There is diversity in our world and it's time you get a grip and realize diversity is here now and will continue for all future generations.
concern wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:04 AM:Its 2008 Mike, that is the problem with our world. Read your Bible.....
Roberto1 wrote on Apr 19, 2008 6:35 PM:Leave gay people alone. Awarness is fine but any laws of crime against gays such as hate crimes should not be passed. Prosecution of all violent offenders should be the same for...one more thing, its seems strange to me that the new folks being persecuted are the polygamist Mormons in Texas. I guess as a society we need somebody to attack.
Gina llbf wrote on Jun 29, 2008 11:08 AM:I have read all of the comments on 6/29/08 I have my own saying;What one does not understand,one fears.What one fears one kills.people would stop being a prisoner slave,of their own mental conditions.Of the mind.We would not have to have laws of the land.We have to have them.The first book that has taught people to discriminate is the holy bible.Think about it people.We have to remember that,Christianity is from the middle east.The real religion of United States,is tribal shamanic belief.Not Christian,Muslim,Buddhism,etc,beliefs.People in this country,their nose is so far up in some ones else is business.They can smell their feces.Anger,Greed,delusion.This is the chemistry that makes up the ego.Remember that the ego does not really exist.Humans created this ego.The ego comes from fear.When there is not no mental discipline training, at an early age.Humans grow up to be monster adults.And than their children become monsters.We suppose to be concerned about child molesters,rapists,terrorist with in and outside of this country.Also animal abuse both sexual,non.
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement
Videos
Advertisement