Kate Hummel
Staff Writer

The Pride Alliance Club is well titled as it is designed to give people of the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders [LGBT] community a supporting environment that promotes acceptance and tolerance, and lends some knowledge to the community about gender identity and sexual orientation.

Club President and Student Relations Senator, Cami Okins, initiated this club earlier this year.

“Pride Alliance is like a gay-straight alliance,” says Okins “but the reason it is called the Pride Alliance is because it includes anybody and everybody, so transgendered, questioning, gay, or straight.”

Okins feels that this campus is so diverse and she shared her frustration that the campus didn’t have a gay-straight club or diversity center for people like her looking for resources.

“I recently came out in December of 2012, and I ended up losing my family over it,” Okins said. “It was really horrible because I had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn. Normally, campuses will have a diversity center or a resource center, but we didn’t have that.”

So Okins talked with Christina Brewer, who agreed to become the club advisor, and they set up the Pride Alliance for those like Okins who feel they don’t have a place to turn.

Although Okins was able to get over 25 people to sign up for the club within two hours of the last Clubs Rush, the hardest part in starting up the club, Okins reveals, is getting the word out about Pride Alliance.

“We unfortunately don’t have a club room or an official room to gather in, so every quarter and every other week we change where we can meet.”

Okins stresses the importance of having a set location or a set diversity center for the Pride Alliance. Sixty-five people have signed up, but meeting attendance ranges from two to 10 people. Okins says that a far greater majority of those people who signed up, would show up if they knew where the location was and it was a consistent location.

Although the club is having a bumpy start up, the officers and members are positive about the affect this club will have in the community.

“My goal by next year is to have the administration and student body government understand how important and vital it is to have a diversity center. Whether or not you are a part of the LGBT community, you are just an ally, or you are of differing religions –whatever it is- it’s important that people understand how diverse our campus is.”

The club is open to all of the LGBT community and to those who are willing to learn and accept this community. The club includes discussions, activities, and resources.

Meetings are usually held in the Sunrise building at 1p.m. on Wednesdays. Contact Cami Okins for the exact Building and room number.