This October, the Women’s and Gender Equity Center invites you to join us in recognizing LGBTQ+ History Month through a month of programs centered on education, visibility, community care, celebration, and connection.
LGBTQ+ History Month is an opportunity to recognize the contributions, experiences, resilience, and ongoing advocacy of LGBTQ+ people throughout history and today. It also provides space to learn about the movements, individuals, and communities that have advanced equity and belonging while acknowledging the barriers and injustices that LGBTQ+ people continue to face.
Observing this month is especially important in an educational setting. Colleges and universities are places where students explore identity, build community, develop critical awareness, and prepare to participate in an increasingly diverse world. LGBTQ+ History Month helps ensure that LGBTQ+ histories and experiences are recognized as an essential part of our shared history, not an addition to it. It also creates meaningful opportunities for students to find connection, access resources, engage in learning, and see that they belong at ODU.
We are asking campus colleagues to both share these opportunities with students and, when possible, attend events alongside them. Your presence matters. When students see faculty and staff showing up for LGBTQ+ programming, it sends a meaningful message that they are valued, supported, and welcome at ODU. For LGBTQ+ students in particular, seeing affirming professionals engaged in these spaces can make a meaningful difference in their sense of belonging and safety.
Please consider forwarding the event schedule below to your students, adding events to department communications, encouraging student organizations to attend, and joining us for one or more programs.
