Cal State Bakersfield volleyball team hosted a PRIDE night to ensure the fans knew that there is a space for everyone when you attend a game.
They invited resources from CSUB, such as the MAGEC center, LGBTQ+ network club, and the counseling center, to share information about the services they offer to the students.
“The visibility of what we’re doing is what creates people to feel safe,” said Giovana Melo, head women’s volleyball coach.
When Melo first came to Cal State Bakersfield, one of the first things she did was attend a Safe Zone Ally training.
Safe Zone training is overseen by Michael Harville, CSUB counseling center, to better educate the faculty and staff at CSUB regarding how to support the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
After attending the training, Melo noticed a lack of LGBTQ+ recognition within the athletics department. That led her to want to create something for the community and get the volleyball department involved.
As she was figuring out how to bring more events for the LGBTQ+ community to CSUB, she reached out to multiple schools. She eventually contacted the softball coach at UCLA, where they celebrated pride nights.
When the event first came to CSUB, it was approved by having it be a diversity night; after many conversations, advocacy, and support from President Dr. Zelezny, it eventually became Pride Night, where the sole focus is the representation of the LGBTQ+ community.
Over the last five years, it has evolved to partner with CSUB Campus Programing to ensure it is in combination with the series of events celebrated in OUTober.
“My experience has been great honestly with it all [hosting Pride Nights] because I feel like the support has been every step of the way to make it better and better.” Melo said.
While there was pushback from donors and even a few of Melo’s players at the time, after educating and creating conversations, Melo explained how she doesn’t hear about a lack of support around Pride Night.
“When I was a player, I wasn’t out. I think if I would have had some of these representations in front of me… I would have felt more comfortable to be out sooner.”
In the world of athletics, the topic surrounding the LGBTQ+ community can be looked down upon. Sometimes, the conversation of being part of the community is blown out of proportion due to the publicity athletes face, Melo explained.
These Pride nights create an opportunity to feel like you have a safe space to be who you are, and throughout Pride Night, Melo shows the CSUB community that there is a space in athletics for that.
Support from your teammates, fans, and coaches is important in feeling safe about who you are.
When transfer student Sophia Metoyer, studio art major and middle blocker for the women’s volleyball team, came to CSUB, the support was evident.
“I think it’s important for the volleyball team to have a pride night because it shows that on a visibility level that this program supports that [the LGBTQ+ community].” Metoyer said.
Because of the Pride nights hosted every year, Metoyer felt like she was allowed to come out of her shell and have support from those around her.
Pride night was hosted on Oct. 7, and CSUB departments were present, sharing information and resources for the LGBTQ+ community while supporting the Lady Roadrunners.
Students who showed up were gifted a custom CSUB pride shirt, and the stadium was filled with pride flags and ready to cheer on the team.
The volleyball team started strong by winning set 1 and worked hard to show Fullerton whose house they were in.
In sets 2-3, Fullerton took the win, and the game was getting heated by this point. You could see fans on the edge of their seats and hear them cheering on the team. The volleyball team had to give it their all in this next set to have a chance to defeat Fullerton.
And, that’s exactly what they did in set 4. The players got back their roadrunner spirit and made another win, progressing into set five.
The pressure was on for the road runners; they unfortunately lost set 5, making Fullerton take this win in a total score of 3:2 in favor of Fullerton.
The team was breaking a sweat the entire night, and the fans never stopped cheering me on.
Regardless of the unfortunate loss, you could feel the PRIDE that night on and off the court.
