Students notice DEI changes to campus, taking on projects being lost in changes

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative ban on public universities across Texas took effect on Jan. 1. Now, students are back in town from the break and are noticing some of those changes.

The Queer Empowerment Council is one group taking on some ambitious projects to make sure resources are still available to students.

“Last semester it was still the Pride Center, it had rainbows, but now students are going in and noticing the big change in how like the Instagram is gone, the website is gone,” Sophia Ahmed, the President of QEC said.

The Pride Center was a university office that provided support, resources and community for every student across the broad spectrum of sexual and gender identities.

Not only is the office gone, but links to resources online lead to nothing. Now, it’s been renamed the Student Life Center. This is where the QEC is stepping in.

“My committee is working on a resource guide for students to look at, especially when there is no more Pride Center. Like, ‘Oh this is where I can go get trans health care’ go here or like ‘Finding out about the Pride Community Center’ go here. We’re working on something like that right now,” Ahmed said.

According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ college students with access to LGBTQ student services have 44% lower odds of attempting suicide, compared to those without.

The QEC says resources, support and events held by the Pride Center are vital for students. These events include Lavender Graduation, a celebration that recognizes graduating LGBTQ+ students’ accomplishments and Draggieland. Ahmed said they’re working to keep these going but have some hurdles to overcome.

“It’s kind of tricky because we’re not the school. We don’t have as many resources as the school does so we’re doing the best that we can with what we have to make these events happen and money’s always a thing,” she said.

Ahmed says that almost a dozen student groups make up the QEC including the Queer Graduate and Professional Aggies, Transcend, oSTEM at A&M, LGBTQ Aggies, FLAKE, PrideSVMC and MedPRIDE. They are also working to connect to other community groups.

This includes the Pride Community Center, which is an effort to build community, provide support and raise awareness in the Brazos Valley. Visit this link for more information.