Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar
Since the implementation of Senate Bill 17, the legislation that caused the demise of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion among other departments and programs, students are still finding their place amidst the changes at the university.
When psychology junior Kimmy Wimberley first came to UH as a transfer student, she was excited to utilize the LGBTQ Resource Center and connect with her peers. However, at the start of the school year, she was met with a door that would soon be closed.
“It was right when I was entering the University of Houston, too, and I was kind of excited to use those resources,” Wimberley said. “To know that they were shut down completely before you even get a chance to use them kind of sucked because it’s hard trying to find that community in college.”
Despite the bill not going into effect until Jan.1, 2024. The University announced it would close its LGBTQ Resource Center and Center for Diversity and Inclusion on Aug. 31. UH was the first school in the state to close its LGBTQ Resource Center.
SB 17 was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott during the 2023 Texas Legislative session, which went into effect on Jan.1. The anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill prevents state universities from operating their DEI offices after the end of 2023.
The closure of the LGBTQ resource center meant the loss of a physical safe space for the queer community on campus. The center was a place for students to be their authentic self, navigate their identity with peer mentors and seek ally-ship training. These resources gone from campus certainly leave students without hope on campus, Wimberley said.
“That’s actually a really big deficit that, you know, we lost with everything. To have counselors that are trained, especially with matters in regard to the LGBTQ support system, just seems like such a big loss for Texas and for our university and students,” Wimberley said.
To offer UH and other state universities support, Rice University’s pride center opened up its Queer Resource Center to anyone from the universities that had to shut down its LGBT Resource Center and has offered honorary memberships.
“Once SB 17 happened, we saw that we had the unique position of being one of, if not the only, still operating Queer Resource Center at a university in Texas,” RICE PRIDE co-president Paige Fastnow said. “Since our Resource Center is completely student-run, we decided as students at Rice to open the doors to any single college student in Texas that needed any support.”
The membership extends invitations to all events and activities available at Rice’s resource center but it also gives the opportunity for UH students to take advantage of a physical safe space and build a community, Fastnow said.
“Our main job at the QRC is just to basically provide as many different avenues for support as we possibly can. All of our volunteers are students that are also going through their own queer journeys,” Fastnow said. “And so usually people have the opportunity to talk to someone, even if they’re not looking for a specific resource, just to relate to someone else and to learn from each other.”
As for on-campus resources, UH has the Center for Student Advocacy and Community which opened up in September and is open to all students at UH.
CSAC’s primary goal is to foster a sense of community for students and help reduce barriers that might prevent them from reaching their personal and academic potential. Collaborations with University Career Services, UH Wellness, Campus Recreation and other campus departments make this possible.
If students ever find themselves challenged or don’t know where to go, CSAC offers one-on-one private appointments where they can get connected to either on campus or off campus resources, said Center for Student Advocacy and Community Director Michael Crook.
“We really just want to create a home away from home for all students,” Crook said.
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“How students are feeling a year after SB 17” was originally posted on The Cougar