Justice Vue

As spring semester classes come back in full swing, the Center for Gender + Sexualities opens its doors to everybody in the Hamline community. On Feb. 1, the Center, located in Anderson 320, put on a two-hour long open house to share information and resources to make Pipers feel welcome to the space.
The Center hosts an open house at the beginning of each semester to allow students to learn more about what the Center offers and provide a safe space for students to explore their identities and interact with their peers without judgment.
“By centering the voices of women, femmes, queer and trans people, the Center aims to 1) advance equity, 2) build community, and 3) cultivate leadership across the entire Hamline community,” Sexualities and Gender Diversity Program Director and Deputy Title IX Coordinator t. aaron hans wrote over email.
Upon entering the Center, students can see the plethora of resources available to them, as well as educational posters, snacks and more. In addition to their regular resources such as menstrual and sexual health items, the Center offered three raffle prizes for students to enter, including a wellness kit, a positive sexuality kit and a menstrual health kit.
“My favorite part of the open house was the selection of fun and inclusive stickers available, like the one of a menstrual cup,” junior Kennedy Tutak said. “It’s a fun way to spread awareness and normalize talking about these topics.”
Events like this require the effort of a large number of people in the community working together to put on. In addition to the Program Director hans, the team includes Program Assistant Crystal Camacho, student staff, interns and volunteers.
“With the integration of the former Women’s Resource Center and the Sexualities and Gender Diversity Programs that I have led for the last 9.5 years, we have had an incredible year so far, as we have integrated the staff into a collective team,” hans wrote.
The open house is just one of many events and projects that the Center puts on every year, and their spring events this year include the Rainbow Keynote, Women’s History Month, Trans Day of Visibility keynotes, Femme Fair and the Lavender Gala. They also host events to discuss certain taboo topics, such as their Digging Deeper and Myth Busting events, and collaborative events including the upcoming Condom Bingo.
“Additionally, in collaboration with HUSC [Hamline University Student Congress] we are able to help stock and maintain the bins across campus with menstrual and safer sex supplies, as well as providing eEmergency cContraception, reusable menstrual supplies and in the coming weeks we will begin to have some gender affirming gear resources as well (as soon as they come in),” hans wrote.
While the Center hosts a variety of events throughout the year, the open house gives a space for people from all backgrounds to stop by and learn more about the resources available to them.
“I had heard of the Center for Gender + Sexualities but had never actually been up there, so it was really great to see and hear how openly the team talked about their resources and how willing they were to help and chat,” sophomore Elizabeth Lopata said.
The Center offers support and resources to all members of the Hamline community, and everybody is encouraged to get involved, no matter their identities.
“We believe that in order to reach our vision of a more socially just and violence-free world for all students by actively resisting sexism, cissexism, heteronormativity, and other intersecting forms of oppression on campus and beyond; that we all need to be collaborators in this vision,” hans wrote.
The open house was just one opportunity to learn more about the Center for Gender + Sexualities in a casual setting, but Pipers are encouraged to stop by whenever they need something or are curious about what the center is doing.
“Stop by, say hi, learn more, and we look forward to seeing you this semester,” hans wrote.