New LGBTQIA center set to open

by Julia Rants

The new LGBTQIA Center for Inclusive  Academic and Career Excellence, also known as the Q Center, is in the works to expand support  to Cal Poly Humboldt students. The Eric Rofes  Multicultural Queer Resource Center, located in Nelson Hall West room 202, has been a student funded center for years. This will transition into  the new Q Center after receiving funding for more resources and hiring a coordinator.  

Goals of center and new staff positions 

The Q Center is joining existing campus cultural centers with the goal of taking current resources and expanding care to offer well-rounded support across all intersections of student identity.  

Elias Pence, the newly hired Q Center coordinator, highlighted the center’s goals in offering a space for connection as it continues to grow. Pence shared that students and the campus community are essential to the center’s development.  

“Let’s make this something that we can  be proud of,” Pence said. “Let’s make this something that everybody can access and feel, you know, nurtured and supported, and have some fun.” 

Alongside Pence, Michelle Cartier, CPH film professor, will serve as the faculty fellow advisor for the center.  

“I look forward to holding regular advising sessions that are all encompassing and specific to the interests of each individual student, from advising on degree completion to career prep/development and personal well-being/growth,” Cartier said in an email.  

Pence and Cartier are currently working on outreach and center operations. 

“Michelle and I are gonna put our heads together and come up with what does queer advising look like?” Pence said. “What do  people need? What do people want? You know, how is it different from non-queer advising?  Like, we’re building the plane as we fly.” 

Mika Rivas, the publicity and media director at the Q Center and CPH student, emphasized the importance of having a space for LGBTQIA students to build community and connections to campus.  

“I think it’s important because when you look at the metrics of the student population, the amount of queer students is exponential,” Rivas said. “And that is a sect of our community, of our student community that is underrepresented within the CSU system.”  

Ways to get involved 

The Gender Diversity Task Force, which works to create an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ students and community members, is a way for students to get involved in future conversations and planning for the center. Meetings are held every other Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Zoom and can be accessed by contacting the center’s email at qcenter@humboldt.edu.  

The center recently began hiring for two positions: an events director and a Camile Nauta community coordinator, named after a CPH student who was an advocate for the queer community. 

“I think now more than ever, we need to  have a space that advocates for those rights, empowers students to fight for their rights, allows resources simply to exist,” Jesse Benefiel, Q Center fiscal director and CPH student said. “And of course, to go back to that place where you can just feel safe.” 

Students interested in getting involved  can reach out to the Q Center at qcenter@humboldt.edu and visit the Q Center’s Instagram page @qcenter_humboldt, for links to resources and mailing list.