Kennesaw Pride Alliance to form nonprofit following DEI cuts

Key Points Kennesaw Pride Alliance opened the Pride Center after Kennesaw State University closed its LGBTQ Pool Center due to threats to DEI Along with the Pride Center the organization is advocating for the reinstatement of Stonewall Housing a housing effort for LGBTQ students KPA is at the moment filing for nonprofit status to form Georgia Pride Alliance a parent organization that will formalize the aspirant organization s structure Following the closure of Kennesaw State University s LGBTQ Supply Center the participant organization Kennesaw Pride Alliance is forming a nonprofit to maintain its help of LGBTQ students and expand its reach to other universities in Georgia For over a decade the LGBTQ Reserve Center offered an inclusive space to socialize engage in weekly and monthly activities and shop for free from the Clothing Closet a more relaxed and accessible space for transgender non-binary and gender non-conforming students to find clothes that suit them In spring however the university internally revealed the center would be rebranded as part of a new Department of Aspirant Engagement and Endorsement and no longer specifically serve LGBTQ students The dismantling followed a letter issued in February detailing the Trump Department of Coaching s new civil rights guidance targeting DEI practices along with the introduction of rule like SB a bill that would ve banned diversity equity and inclusion DEI initiatives from K- schools and colleges had it not died after crossover day In the wake of these attacks colleges across Georgia have rolled back LGBTQ -inclusive support Georgia Tech dissolved their LGBTQ Reservoir Center Women s Deposit Center and Black Civilization Innovation and Hardware group and coalesced them into the Arts Belonging and Population Department Emory University reported in September it would be discontinuing DEI programs and offices Leadership of the Kennesaw Pride Alliance brought the organization out of dormancy to provide LGBTQ guidance to students after the dismantling of KSU s LGBTQ Supply Center Photo via Instagram Amy West Communications Director of the Kennesaw Pride Alliance reported that students were frustrated and hurt by the closure so the KPA stepped up to create its own space for LGBTQ students to gather Several other universities in Georgia are still operating similar programs or rebranded them whereas KSU just thoroughly gutted theirs West described Georgia Voice So that ended up with myself and several other members of the group to end up bringing KPA out of dormancy Partnering with local First United Lutheran Church KPA opened its own Pride Center Aug a space located in the church for students to engage with locality endorsement groups movie nights battle nights a queer library a society closet and mental physical condition counseling all built entirely by students without endorsement from the university I know right now a lot of our students are facing sustained pressure at home and on campus be it from certain right-wing groups or from increasingly emboldened conservatives who are trying to silence them and keep them in the closet West commented That s why having access to these supports to enable them to exist as themselves in society is so key Considering the fact that sponsorship was almost entirely gutted last spring a lot of them have been left feeling hopeless like they need to hide themselves to not be harassed or targeted Along the creation of the new Pride Center and population engagement members of KPA are also advocating for students in particular those living in the now-disbanded Stonewall Housing The housing undertaking which provided safe housing to LGBTQ students who came from hostile homes feared harassment in the dorms or were homeless or on the verge of homelessness was discontinued along with the pool center One pupil on the KSU subreddit wrote that the KSU housing website had been wiped of any mention of the effort and that Stonewall residents had not been informed the undertaking had been disbanded West says KPA has and will continue to advocate for the reinstatement of the undertaking In the meantime the KSU senior and her colleagues in the organization are working to maintain the organization to help provide and advocate for LGBTQ students even after the current leadership graduates The apprentice organization is now filing for c status to create Georgia Pride Alliance a parent organization for the group that would formalize the structure of KPA and potentially expand their reach to students at other schools West says she hopes for the nonprofit to be formed by spring or summer Until then students with KPA are seeking assistants to help run events at the Pride Center donations of books and clothes to their library and closet and connections with other organizations to get students access to other support KPA doesn t have the ceiling to provide To learn more and get involved follow Kennesaw Pride Alliance on Instagram kpridealliance 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