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Weber State University is set to get its first LGBT center — an effort to improve resources for students and Ogden residents.
The new office on the school's Ogden campus opens Jan. 27.
LGBT students, their families and other allies requested the center.
"There was a clear and compelling student need" for the center, said Adrienne Gillespie Andrews, WSU special assistant to the president for diversity. "We are truly living out our inclusivity statement."
Anyone from the WSU campus or the surrounding community seeking support or training in LGBT issues can go to the new center, Andrews said.
WSU students previously had a lounge and some resources set side for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and supporters on the Davis campus, said spokeswoman Allison Hess. The new center is the first to have its own staffer and the first to open in Ogden. It's housed in the Students Services Center.
In surveys in recent years, students said they would like to see more support for LGBT students. The University of Utah and Utah State University both have centers dedicated to LGBT resources.
Advocates hope the center will increase scholarships and mentoring, said Jayson Stokes, the center coordinator. Since the 1990s, the school has offered a scholarship in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay man killed in a Wyoming hate crime.
Stokes says the center also aims to cater to community members.
Ogden "isn't like Salt Lake, that has the Pride Center, which is very visible," he said. "We're very excited to be making steps in the Ogden area and also at Weber State."
The center's theme is "celebrating the fullness of who you are, where you are," Andrews said. Its goal, she added, is to "cultivate a welcoming and safe environment."
For about five years, the school has hosted "safe-zone" trainings on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression for students and others.
Those are scheduled to continue alongside a book club, film series and campus events.
Trustees approved the center last year. An endowment will cover costs, Andrews said.
Karlee Berezay, a senior sociology major and the center's student advocate says the new space will give the campus LGBT community a long-awaited home.
Until now, campus newcomers had no spot to go to if they didn't know anybody on campus.
"There wasn't a structure that you could wander into," said Berezay, who said she identifies as queer. The new center "kind of gives the community a nucleus — like a place to be."
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