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news
LGBTRC hosts open
house event
By Dwight Flenniken
III
On-line Forty-Niner
An open house was
held at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center
to bring students together and offer them support and information
on services offered at Cal State Long Beach.
"It offers
a good service to our students who need a place to go,"
Wayne Stickney-Smith, CSULB Associated Students Inc. president
said.
Roshni Sharma Chabra,
program coordinator for the resource center, helped put the
open house together.
"It's a really
important service because it breaks down myths," Chabra
said.
Participants agreed
it was a larger event than last year, including this year's
program coordinator who saw it as an impressive turnout.
Students lined
the hallways just outside the offices eating pizza and cake,
others sat inside the center visiting with old friends.
The festivities
included members of the Rainbow Alliance Group, Women's and
Men's Rap support groups, Delta Lambda Phi and the Speakers
Bureau.
The event was held
in the LGBT offices located in FO 4, room 165. The office
serves as a gathering place for all who wish to come.
"The open
house is good because a lot of students don't feel comfortable
coming out to the office," Se Reed, ASI press secretary
said.
The center offers
a variety of books and videos on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender issues. They also offer peer support and counseling
for those in need.
One function of
the center offered to faculty is the Speakers Bureau. This
is a group of individuals sent to a class to discuss current
LGBT issues.
For students a
group of three to seven volunteers are on campus to talk to
students about what it feels like to be part of this community.
Throughout the
day anywhere between 30 and 50 students could be seen enjoying
the gathering.
"I think this
is a great event," Stickney-Smith said.
Another event was
held the following afternoon, a picnic that was meant in honor
of National Coming Out Day.
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