A new Pride Center is now open on the campus of Mesa College, ready to offer LGBTQ students academic, personal and career counseling — an affirming library of literature and authors, meeting places and other gender and sexuality resources.
Mesa College President Ashanti Hands said the main purpose is to offer a safe space for everyone.
“We don’t hide those things that have value and meaning to us. We put them out front and center ... so that everybody can see and so that everyone will know that this is part of a community — a part of a village — that we see our students," Hands said.
Wednesday's grand opening party made way for the business of creating a safe space for those who are very much out of the closet — and those who are not.
Areli Sandoval is a first-year student who is studying fine arts with plans to become a graphic artist. She said, “You come in here and you can be your true self. Whether an ally (or) whether you’re part of the community. You deserve to be here, you deserve to be seen as your whole self.”
Planning for the Pride Center started in 2016. Then came the COVID-19 shutdown, which inspired the location and some of the possible uses for the space.
The building used to house classrooms, an art gallery and some offices. Distance learning and changes in the post-pandemic curriculum allowed Mesa College to make room for a repurposed mission of pride.
During the grand opening event, San Diego District 2 City Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell reflected on the progress that has been made by the LGBTQ community.
“Most of my life, I could not come out of the closet because being gay was never discussed in families, religious institutions, or — God forbid — in public," Campbell said.
There is already a Pride Center on the campus of San Diego City College downtown. Trustees hope to establish similar centers at the community college district's other two main campuses.
