The long-awaited Pride Center has finally opened on campus. It aims to provide services and a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students at Grossmont.
The center is located in The Village, Building 70, Room 225. Two counselors, Francheska Morataya and Cierra DeVries, offer academic and personal career counseling. Morataya is there on Mondays and Wednesdays, and DeVries is there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“I really just want to get students more connected to the campus, build a community,” DeVries said.
DeVries said she hopes to start a book club in the fall, as the Pride Center also has a library with books about the LGBTQIA+ community. They plan to get more books for the library, and are open to donations. Students can recommend books for the library using the book recommendation form on the Grossmont Pride Center Canvas Shell.
The Canvas shell provides information on the Pride Center’s events, the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity (SOGI) club, and campus and community resources. Students can use their Canvas account to enroll in the shell at any time. To enroll, students can scan the QR code.
Additionally, students looking to book an appointment with a counselor can go through the Pride Center Canvas shell, ask their counselor from general counseling, get the link from the SOGI club or stop by the Pride Center directly.
Students are welcome to suggest any ideas or requests to the Pride Center that they feel would help their community.
“I want this to be a collaborative space and want to work with the campus community, students, faculty classified alike,” DeVries said.
The Pride Center also offers safe zone training and workshops. Safe zone training helps create safe spaces on campus by educating faculty members and students on issues the LGBTQIA+ community faces.
“We want to make people more aware of the issues faced by the community,” DeVries said.
Dr. June Yang, professor and co-advisor of the SOGI club, said, “It offers a safe space that is open during prime hours where students can go and get assistance if they need it.”
Yang, along with other faculty members, has been pushing for the Pride Center for at least a year now. “I’m so proud that we have a Pride Center,” Yang said.
While the Pride Center has been open for about two months, counselors are actively seeking to provide even more services for LGBTQIA+ students. “We are working on getting a dedicated mental health counselor for the community,” DeVries said.
DeVries added, “We’re also starting to offer gender affirming clothing, so like binders, tucking underwear, that kind of stuff, for students who can’t afford it or it’s not safe at home.”
The Pride Center is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. As of now, it is closed on Fridays.
Morataya is available on Mondays and Wednesdays, and DeVries on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“We are just really excited to be here,” DeVries said.
To stay updated about events and resources, you can follow the Pride Center on Instagram at: gc_pridecenter on join the Canvas shell.
