On Sept. 6, 2024, the University of Connecticut’s Rainbow Center hosted its annual Welcome Back Bash to officially welcome back the patrons of the center. Pizza and snacks were provided while the guests conversed with each other.
After letting the guests settle in, Nathan Velazquez, a seventh-semester pathobiology major and the programming and events lead for the Rainbow Center, gave a short presentation about the staff of the Rainbow Center, the services the center provides, affiliated organizations and activities available at the event. Velazquez also highlighted some of the upcoming events hosted by the Rainbow Center: The Rainbow Center Symposium with keynote speaker Gabby Rivera, author of the queer and Latina coming-of-age novel “Juliet Takes A Breath” and Marvel’s comic book “America,” will be held on Oct. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Gender Lab, an event featuring medical and legal professionals who explain how to medically and legally transition genders, a hair stylist that gives free haircuts and tutorials for masculine and feminine makeup. Likewise, the Rainbow Center’s gender-affirming closet will be on full display and available to the public as it always has been. The event will occur in the first week of November. Velazquez also announced that the Gender Lab will be held semesterly from now on.
On Nov. 20, the Rainbow Center will pay respects to the transgender individuals who died for Transgender Day of Remembrance, reading the names of those who died and planting transgender flags in front of the Student Union.
The Rainbow Center will collaborate with the African American Cultural Center for the annual Drag Show on Feb. 22, 2025 at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. When asked about why the African American Cultural Center partnered with the Rainbow Center, Velazquez said “We had always wanted to bring other cultural centers into Rainbow Center events. That’s why we pointed to the Drag Show, since the Drag Show is the biggest event in Rainbow Center recent history.” The collaboration also allows for more Black representation at the event. He added that over 1000 tickets were sold last year.
The Out to Lunch lecture series will have another installment this October, according to Velazquez. The details are still currently in the works.
The Rainbow Center stresses the importance of sexual health, providing free safer sex products easily accessible outside of their center and having free and confidential HIV and Hepatitis C testing.
Velazquez then made the audience aware of the organizations that are affiliated with the Rainbow Center, including In-Power, which seeks to empower survivors of sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence; the Queer Collective, which focuses on fostering community within the queer community on campus; Between Women, which is for women and non-binary people who are attracted to women or suspect they are; the Black Queer Student Association; Decolores, which is an affinity group for queer and trans Latines; Queer Asians & Allies and oSTEM, which is for queer students in science, technology, engineering or mathematical fields.
Grian Wizner, a seventh-semester secondary English education major and president of Decolores, reflected on the influence the Rainbow Center staff had on the organization. “Kelsey, Ian and Lene have seen all the highs and lows with Decolores, and without their help, Decolores wouldn’t be where it is today.”
The final point Velaquez made is gender-inclusive housing, which caters to transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming students, but also more generally the queer community.
“We’re going to be having queer movie nights about queer history and people showing the intersectionality between queerness and transness and marginalized communities,” Velazquez remembered in a conversation after the presentation.
The audience enjoyed making collages, coloring, playing “Just Dance,” socializing or simply enjoying the atmosphere.
Aqua T., a fifth-semester digital media and design major with a concentration in film/video production reflected, “Some people feel nervous to come to the Rainbow Center, but it’s very, very open. It’s not necessarily just a place to deal with queer issues; it’s a place to exist. A safe space. It’s a home away from home. You can eat here, you can sleep here, you can piss here.”