Portland State University

Campus Pride LGBTQ-Friendly Spotlight Series: 20th Anniversary Special Live

WATCH ONLINE: CampusPride.org/CampusSpotlight

September 4: Watch Campus Pride Intern Ayla Azim (she/her) interview representatives from Portland State University, a university with 5/5 stars on the Campus Pride Index. Interviewees include K (they/them), Director of the Queer Resource Center, Mena (she/her/ella), Assistant Director of the QRS, GP (they/them), Office Coordinator of the QRS, and HB (he/him), Queer Students of Color Resources and Retention Coordinator. Portland State University (PSU) is a public university in Oregon that is ranked one of the best in terms of LGBTQ+ friendly colleges and universities. The university is considered an access institution and enables students who have historically faced oppression to reach their goals of completing higher education. PSU has a wide variety of resources, policies, and ways to get involved in the LGBTQ+ community. The university has established internal anti-discrimination and welcoming policies that specifically name gender identity and sexual orientation. There is a student and staff task force called SAGE (Sexuality and Gender Equity) that focuses on policy work and ensures gender-inclusive housing and bathrooms, administers campus climate surveys, and protects students against harassment and police violence. If a LGBTQ+ student faces harassment, they can meet with a professional staff member (with confidentiality, if they so wish) to discuss formal and informal options. Emphasis is put on understanding the queer and trans experience and affirming students in their identity. Students have a number of ways to get involved in the LGBTQ+ community including through volunteer programs, affinity groups, projects, speaker boards, planning committees, conferences, internships, newsletters, research opportunities, and physical and virtual spaces. Students can join student-lead speaker boards like Queeries or QRC’s fun Discord Server as well as other activities to create relationships with the QRS and other LGBTQ+ students, allies, or advocates. According to the PSU representatives, some of the queerest aspects of campus are the people itself, the OUT List where members of the PSU community can self-identify their sexual orientation, and an intimate ceremony called Lavender Graduation in which queer and trans graduates are honored. The campus is described as dynamic, radical, and transformative as members work to create a familiarity and understanding of different pronouns, sexualities, identities, and experiences. To learn more, visit https://campusprideindex.org/