In an effort to further impose controversial notions about LGBTQ sexuality and gender expression on students and staff, the University of Alaska, Anchorage, is opening a so-called “Pride Center” in its state-funded Student Union.
The brainchild of the university’s LGBTQIA2S+ Advisory Committee, new center will provide programs and services for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit members of the UAA community and their allies,” a notice on the school website states.
The LGBTQIA2S+ Advisory committee is a campus-wide group that meets biweekly to advise and provide guidance to the university’s Chief Diversity Officer on a range of issues pertaining sexuality and gender identity on campus.
In the past year, the group developed a “Pronouns Matter” training for students and staff to promote the idea of addressing people with whichever personal pronouns they desire. The group also launched an “Is it OK to say Queer?” campaign.
Sara Caldwell-Kan, the university’s director of Multicultural Student Services, claimed the new Pride Center will “keep students succeeding.”
“But more than the space, it’s about demonstrating a commitment to queer and trans students,” she claimed. “Even if students don’t ever go there, that visibility really does matter when it comes to building trust in the institution.”
Jessi Saiki will staff the new center. She is one of the “Engagement and Belonging Coordinators” in Multicultural Student Services whose focus is leading “Rainbow Initiatives.”
According to the UAA website, the multicultural program had already become a “de facto LGBTQ space on campus,” but the school wanted to make its support of the radical LGBTQ agenda even “more apparent.”
Work on the Pride Center started back in the summer 2021 as one of several initiatives recommended by the LGBTQIA2S+ Advisory Committee. Since then, the group has pushed campus-wide “awareness and advocacy campaigns,” as well as conducted LGBTQ training and educational sessions for students and staff.
Currently, the advisory committee is working on an initiative to introduce “inclusive bathrooms” on campus, to let gender-confused students access intimate facilities with members of the opposite sex.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
“From researching to putting together a proposal and finally opening the space, the time frame we were able to open the Pride Center in really shows that UAA is committed to making inclusive spaces,” said Kim Morton, executive director of student engagement and inclusion. “And with inclusive restrooms, we’ll keep making sure we’re doing everything we can to keep the students that we have and for them to have very positive experiences on campus.”
The grand opening of the Pride Center is Jan. 17, 4-6 p.m. in the Student Union.
TAKING ACTION
— Click here to testify at the Feb. 21 meeting of the University of Alaska Board of Regents.
— Click here to contact individual University of Alaska Board of Regents members.
— Click here to contact Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
21 Comments
In my experience in life 8ve seen where when people have stuff like this stuffed down their throats they become even that much more against it. There either wasn’t a problem or nobody cared about it. Now it’s in your face constantly it became a problem. People show do as they please and don’t cram their other than normal ways on others. It will be a lot less controversial that way. How about my Constitutional rights in this matter? I have FREEDOM of SPEECH given to me by our for fathers. Learn to like it or deal with it. It’s not illegal for me to say or speak in a manner you might not like. Anchorage assembly needs to learn this too!
Someday we will look back on this period of madness and wonder how average people allowed all this ridiculousness to happen. How a minority of maladjusted, identity-challenged people dictated to the majority.
this shouldn’t be allowed at a state funded university. Tax payer money doesn’t need to be put towards the lgbtq+ fantasy land. Keep it private.
I agree. I think that something is really unbalanced with this. Is anyone else noticing how every big organization in Anchorage is getting these “advisory” committees that are “advising” on certain globalist agendas? Of course, the UAA system is going to be able to easily spread these agendas throughout their campuses across the state – thus infiltration state-wide!
This is what happens when west coast liberals flood your state after they have succeeded in turning their states into crime ridden, high taxed, bankrupt, financial basket cases. They come to your state trying to get away from themselves. Then they think that you all need them to govern you and they start the same old crap over. Kind of like the Borg on Star Trek
Agree with all of the above. All of this is outlandish. A university should be focused primarily on academics, not accommodating every changing personal whim that comes along. Simply encourage universal respect and consideration for others along the way and that easily covers all people without creating special classes and groups which only fosters, or increases, division and narcissism.
If homophobes and religious nuts didn’t act so crazy, there might not be a need for a Pride Center. I like what Elizabeth says about “encourage universal respect and consideration,” but there are lot of bullies and punks out there. Some of them are violent. Trans activists are reactionary and academics can be way out of touch with day-to-day reality. Some of the “solutions” being developed are not ideal. Some are potentially harmful (like surgery and maybe hormone therapy on young people). But mountains out of molehills here. There is no unified LGBTQ agenda; lots and lots of different kinds of gender/sex atypical people. Who cares? Live and let live.
Yes, yes, we hear about these terrible crimes happening every day in Anchorage! (not)
More agenda pushed down our throats.
Even though much of what is forced on is to accept, we saw perversion and delusion but were willing to live and let live. Now, attempting to force all of society into a participating in the delusion and forcing us to bend the knee is showing that the newest religion is the most fanatical and fascist. LGB… etc., etc. is the new fascistic religion that (oddly enough like the mohammedan and atheist religions) will not simply live and let live.
Homophobes? REALLY! That typical branding by a group of fanatically left wing fruit loops. You implying that anybody that doesn’t agree with your lifestyle is afraid of a bunch of people that are sexual disorientated, sexually confused, biological and evolutionary dead needs? How do you like the branding Patti???
Plus this headlines is just stupid. Somehow the Pride Center is going to “impose” an agenda on Anchorage students. Don’t want what the Pride Center offers? Don’t go to the Center.
If it were only that simple. You are misrepresenting this new fanatical religion and the fealty that it demands.
Because Patti it is a publicly funded institution. People like you would soil yourselves If we had a Hetero straight pride center there teaching everybody’s youths.., the actual truth that a homosexual lifestyle is in fact an abnormal lifestyle and not actually diversity but rather perversity that serves no purpose except to make a species extinct over time. That it’s actually a biological evolutionary dead end much like the frog that is born with two heads, or the lamb that was born with an extra leg, it is a mutation, not a diversification that serves no purpose. I know that may sound cold but your types like to quote science when ever its convent for you.
I have a problem with it when it is at a public institution being paid for by my tax dollars when I don’t agree with it. “Live and let live” – the left keeps telling conservatives that, but yet when conservatives would like to be able to live within their moral and ethical standards, they are not allowed to. The LGBTQ+++ is a movement pushed by the globalists to build their 1984/The Brave New World environment. The People of The World do not accept the globalist agenda or their upside down world.
This subject would be confronted and stopped by Governor Desantis! Governor dunleavy on the other hand is busy signing our state resources over to the Biden/Obama/Clinton woke green lousy deal!
Dunleavy’s screw ups aren’t going to be recoverable!
Please put pressure on his deliberate incompetent administration! And forcefully opinionate on media that protects this spineless derelict, like Suzanne Downing MRA and the Mike pacarro and pot head show!!!
No, no, no! Patti: This great grandma is on the floor kicking, screaming; demanding big $$ in funding by taxpayers who WORK hard, so I can have a gorgeous, heterosexual center for grand and great grand parents to cry, pull hair get massages and counseling to help us understand how we lost our nation. Can I count on your donation?
Are conservatives welcome there?
If they treat the people there with kindness, dignity and respect.
Jon, your words apply to EVERYONE, so great advice! You and those that you represent must treat conservatives with kindness, dignity and respect also.
Well Richard it’s pretty questionable isn’t it
long overdue. good news once again, thanks!