University of Utah’s Student Pride Center launches, creating a new resource for LGBTQ+ students

The University of Utah was forced to close its LGBT Resource Center after Utah’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a bill forbidding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs on state campuses.

LGBTQ+ students now have a dedicated space to find support, community, and resources, with the recent launch of the Student Pride Center. The center, which officially opened its doors on August 19, will celebrated its grand opening on September 19, with a fundraiser event on the University of Utah campus at Presidents Circle.

The Student Pride Center is a student-led organization with a mission to empower LGBTQ+ students and their allies by providing essential resources, advocacy, and a safe space for authentic self-expression. The center is a program of the Utah Pride Center and will operate out of room 2130-N in the Marriott Library on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

University of Utah senior Ien Zielinski created the center to give LGBTQ+ students a place where they can feel a true sense of belonging.

“I started the Student Pride Center to show the University of Utah administration and the Utah legislature that the continued disenfranchisement of, and prejudice toward, LGBTQ+ identifying people will not be tolerated by students,” Zielinski explained. “I want to show active and prospective students that they don’t need a man in a suit to tell them if they do, or do not, belong somewhere—students can create their own belonging.”

The organization is run by a board of four senior students, including Zielinski, executive assistant Zoe Brown, volunteer coordinator Andrew Coda, and finance manager Brooklyn Mears, with the support of student volunteers. Together, they aim to unite and uplift the LGBTQ+ community on campus.

The Utah Pride Center is excited to be involved in this student-driven initiative, said Chad Call, executive director.

“If Utah’s lawmakers continue to find ways to exclude Utah’s LGBTQIA+ communities, the Utah Pride Center will do everything it can to provide support so our students can create their own safe spaces. This circumstance is unfortunately familiar to our community, but when our place in society is threatened, we come together, support one another, and show up for each other. That’s exactly what these students are doing at the university,” Call said in a statement.

The opening of the Student Pride Center is being warmly received by students across the campus. “I feel better just knowing that we still have a Pride Center on the U campus,” one student said. “It means that queer students still have a place to go and that students support each other.”

As the center continues to grow, it hopes to offer a wide range of educational and community-based resources to further support the LGBTQ+ student body at the University of Utah.

For more information about the Student Pride Center and its programs, visit www.studentpridecenter.com or contact uofustudentpridecenter@gmail.com.