By Patricia Rocha
News Editor
In honor of pride week, the Alpha Gamma pledge class of the Kappa Sigma fraternity hosted “LGBTQ+ 101: Learn How to Become an Ally and Create a Safe Zone” with speaker Dafne Luna on Oct. 17 in Dorothy Donahue Hall.
Luna, a UCLA graduate and current program coordinator for the Bay Area nonprofit Outlet, focuses on support groups for LGBTQQ youth. She hosts many workshops designed to educate people on things like LGBTQ stereotypes, preferred pronouns, the difference between sexual orientation and sexual behavior and ways to become a positive ally for the community, especially among communities of color. A native of Delano, Luna feels there is a need for such workshops in these traditionally conservative areas of California.
“Even when you have the media really focusing on urban queerness, like L.A. and San Francisco, rural California is completely ignored,” she said. “It’s like this non-existent space in California. So there’s no resources for that here.”
Luna feels much of the stigma comes from conservative ideals engrained in religious belief and a lack of understanding for how many LGBTQ people there are in the area. Her own coming out was a reflection of this.
“Coming out for me in high school was not an option,” she said. “I tried and it backfired, not in a bad way, I just had to be pushed back into the closet because it started getting really uncomfortable for me… I know a lot of my friends in high school who did come out as a gender non-conforming and queer. Most of us don’t come home. We can’t come home. We can’t safely exist here.”
Liberal studies major Norma Camorlinga felt the messages shared in the workshop were important, especially for the Bakersfield area.
“I always like coming to safe spaces for people, or ally spaces,” said Camorlinga. “I think it’s very important, especially what she was saying, [that] in this kind of community, where it’s not as accepting to come out or it is taboo just to identify or say that you support.”
Kappa Sigma pledge educator Fekede Mesfin was impressed with the workshop and the turnout of approximately 17 people with only four days’ notice.
“This is honestly their first event as a pledge class and I say it went great, as their pledge educator I’m pretty proud,” said Mesfin.
Though he feels his fraternity and CSU Bakersfield’s campus itself are tolerant and safe places, he has seen the issues Bakersfield faces with tolerance firsthand.
“I’ve been to a few of these to open my eyes more,” he said. “I remember when I was growing up I would have gay friends and they didn’t have the easiest childhood, especially after their parents found out…I’m glad that I’ve seen Bakersfield grow, and I really want to be there to help it grow. I love that the first pledge class I get to teach has that same value.”
Camorlinga reflected on some of the workshop’s main points.
“You need to have a safe space and not necessarily ask people, ‘Oh are you gay?’ ‘What are you?’ I think it’s important not to put people on the spot because it puts them in this uncomfortable position that they don’t necessarily need to be in, because it’s selfish of you,” she said. “I never thought of it like that, that it’s selfish of you… It’s none of your business really…It’s what these people are, it’s very discriminatory otherwise to not be accepting.”
Though Luna gets mixed reactions from each of the workshop’s exercises, she hopes the information she shares trickles out and open peoples’ eyes to the struggles LGBTQ communities face.
“This, I think it went really great,” she said. “At some points I could see people just like, ‘what are you asking of us?’ I’m challenging you. That’s ok, you need to be challenged…The thing is, it’s not that people don’t want to talk about it. They just don’t have the spaces to…If you give them the space, they’ll take it, and they’ll talk about it in a really honest way.”
The chances are high that the fraternity will host another event such as this one.
“I want to see if we can get it on a grander scale, maybe fill this room, see what we can actually do,” said Mesfin.
Luna agreed to do more workshops should schedule and finances allow.
“If the spaces are there I’ll do it,” she said. “And I don’t charge for them either for accessibility purposes.
