Forget spooky season and Halloween parties; CSUB brings the fabulous Drag Queens and raises the pride flag for the month of October.
The effort of OUTober is to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community during the academic year on campus by shining a spotlight on the joy and struggles of the LGBTQ+ community.
They started OUTober by raising awareness through a Pride Flag Raising Ceremony on Oct. 2nd, a ceremony to acknowledge the symbolism of the Pride flag and CSUB’s support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Jovanna Penuelas, LGBTQ+ Network club president and in the Masters in Educational School Counseling performed as the MC of the ceremony. They brought forth various members who spoke in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
President Zelezney, President of CSUB; Dr. Jeremiah Sataraka, Ethics Studies faculty; Daisy Alamillo, President of Associated Student Inc.; and Ignacio Castillo, Vice President of ASI, shared words of encouragement, personal stories and support towards the LGBTQ+ community members on the campus.
“Today we have LGBTQ+ people everywhere… Thank you CSUB for allowing me to start this Pride Flag Ceremony,” said Penuelas.
Throughout the month, they hosted various events, such as Mariachi Arcoiris: De Los Angeles: the world’s first LGBTQ+ Mariachi on Oct. 4th, the Women’s Volleyball team hosted a Pride Night on
Oct. 6th brought awareness to athletics and the LGBTQ+ community, and The Kegley Institute of Ethics hosted a KIE Colloquium with Sataraka as he shared his history project regarding the QTPI, Queer and/ or Transgender Pacific Islander, community.
The OUTober celebration ended in joy as Campus Programming and ASI hosted a CSUB Expression Night, where Drag Queens in Bakersfield, Sasha Reign, Avairrianna, and Alexander the Queen came to perform, and students shared their coming out stories.
Expression night was a safe environment that was filled with music, community, and understanding some of the shared experiences of being in the LGBTQ+ community.
“Your story isn’t over… this is to leave room to let people know you are not alone,” said Sasha. They encouraged students to share their coming out story as you never know how it relates to someone next to you.
The efforts to bring awareness and support were evident throughout OUTober through the various events they hosted. Members of the CSUB community had opportunities, through the events and workshops, to have space to be themselves, share their stories, and meet like-minded individuals.
