View the recording from our Spring 2024 Navigating College as a Student Holding Multiple Marginalized Identities event:
The ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ LGBTQ+ Center supports an inclusive environment on all KSU campuses, advocates for all individuals and campus and community groups based on sexual and gender identity, maintains organizational capacity so that the work of the Center is efficient and effective, and builds community and a sense of belonging to support an inclusive environment.
The center is a welcoming environment to LGBTQ students and their allies. The informed staff strives to educate the campus community about sexual orientation and gender identity to ensure ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ remains a safe space for all students.
Fall 2024 Events - Save the Dates!
Drag Race 5K
Thank you all for your unwavering support of the Rainbow Run over the years. We appreciate your dedication to the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ LGBTQ+ Center.
The LGBTQ+ Center recently completed our 2024 –2027 Strategic Plan which will focus on advocacy, organizational capacity, and community building and belonging. As a result of this direction, we have decided to cancel our annual Rainbow Run event and announce that Main Street Kent is stepping in to fill this gap by coordinating a team of volunteers to raise funds for the LGBTQ+ Emergency Fund. We are deeply grateful for their support and collaboration.
Please mark your calendars for October 11th, 2024, and join us for the Kent Rainbow Weekend Drag Race. We will be promoting and marketing this event widely, and we hope to see you there!
While the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ LGBTQ+ Rainbow Run will not take place this year, we are excited to support and collaborate with Main Street Kent on their upcoming event.
Hate is such a drag! Show your pride October 11th (National Coming OUT Day) at 6pm and support ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡'s LGBTQ+ Emergency Fund by participating in the Drag Race 5K, part of Main Street Kent's fourth annual . Participants are invited, but not required, to don their best drag look as they walk, stroll, run, or roll their way along the 5K route. Join us after for the End of the Rainbow Party at North Water Brewing Company, where $1 from every drink purchased will be donated to the KSU LGBTQ+ Emergency Fund.
March with us in the Homecoming Parade
The LGBTQ+ Center will be participating again by marching in the Homecoming Parade on September 28, 2024, as well as hosting the annual TailGAYte immediately afterwards. We invite alumni, students, faculty and staff to march with us in the Homecoming Parade. Line up for the Homecoming March begins at 9:30am and will step off promptly at 10:30am. Find us behind the Kent Student Center, on Midway Dr., just look for our LGBTQ+ Center Directors Black 4-Door Jeep Wrangler, which will be decorated in rainbows and pride gear! Email kditlevs@kent.edu to get our exact line-up number which will be released the week of homecoming and will also be posted on our social media platforms.
Homecoming TailGAYte
September 28th | 11:30am-1:30pm
TailGAYte will meet at Nineteen10 Restaurant (within the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Hotel and Conference Center) 215 S. Depeyster Street, Kent, OH 44240
Registration is encouraged. Register for our Homecoming TailGAYte here.
Volunteer opportunity
Every year, as part of the annual Kent Rainbow Weekend, the LGBTQ+ Center has coordinated a group of volunteers to decorate the downtown bridge that overlooks the river. One side of the bridge will be decorated in rainbow colors, and the other side of the bridge will be decorated in the transgender pride flag colors. We will be decorating the bridge on Monday, October 7th from 2-5pm. Help us celebrate our community and the Kent Rainbow Weekend, while providing a great photo backdrop for attendees, and also demonstrating the strong pride that Kent has! Use this link to register and to receive updates:
LGBTQ+ Protests & Demonstrations Panel
Monday, September 30th at 5pm | Kent Student Center Ballroom Balcony (3rd Floor)
ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ has a strong history of student activism. The LGBTQ+ Center wants to ensure you can safely exercise your right to protest and demonstrate about issues that matter to you!
The LGBTQ+ Center is partnering with campus leaders to host an educational event on how to safely protest and demonstrate on campus, University policy, and a Q&A panel session.
Support Students in Need
The LGBTQ+ Center's emergency fund is available for students in need of additional funding for books, academic supplies, household items, housing, or food.