By Olivia Norton
A spirit of acceptance, safety, and inclusivity has been cultivated at Southern Virginia University as Pride Club has made the effort to be a presence at our school and spread love to all.
If you asked around on campus, most people would say that they’ve heard of the Pride Club; it’s a pretty well known association. But how much do you really know about Pride Club? In this article, I’m going to dive a little deeper and discuss why Pride Club is important, and even necessary for Southern Virginia University.
I had the opportunity to speak with senior Haven Ritz (they/them), President of Pride Club. Ritz came to Southern Virginia from Denver, Colorado and is close to receiving their degree in political science. Ritz wanted to go to Ireland, but Southern Virginia University was the middle ground to their parents wanting them to go to Brigham Young University. Ritz likes that Southern Virginia is on the East Coast and surrounded by history. Additionally, Ritz said,
“Funny enough, the deciding factor was that I was researching the clubs at the University. And I saw that they did have a Pride Club, I was like, ‘okay, I can come here. I’ll be safe here. I’ll have people here that know me and understand me.’”
Pride Club is a resource on campus for all members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as any allies of the community; the club is open to everyone. Members of the club discuss the campus environment and find what resources are available to help members of the community. They are also active within Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge County at large. They collaborate frequently with Washington and Lee University in Lexington.
I asked Ritz what they wished everyone on campus could understand about Pride Club on campus and they said,
“Our motto is love more, hate less… All are welcome here. And you know, membership doesn’t mean you’re gay. But we are a part of this campus and we’re a part of the love one another mentality. And we’re happy to be here and we’re happy that you’re happy to have us here.”
The mindset towards the LGBTQ+ community of Southern Virginia University has grown a lot in the past few years and has become a very open and loving place. Ritz says,
“We’re just here to make sure that it stays open and loving and to increase that and increase visibility as well. Because there are a lot of people on campus who identify with some aspect of the LGBTQ+ community or are allies to the community… We just want to make sure that people who are on campus or looking to attend SVU know that they will have a safe space.”
Anyone can join the Pride Club. As expected, there are a few basic behavioral rules: be kind to each other and don’t out anyone. Membership is also 100% confidential. The only people who know who is a member is the Pride Club presidency. Even faculty and administration do not have access to those who are members (confidentiality is so important to Pride Club). Even if you’re just on the email list, you can consider yourself part of the club. The email list is for anyone who’s interested about learning more, wanting to receive updates, or is looking for ways to help the community; whether it’s because someone they love is in the community, or they’re in the community.
Pride Club also holds several events that are open to everyone. Their major event is Rainbow Week, which is every year in the fall during LGBTQ+ History Month. You can read more about Rainbow Week here. Pride Club also likes to do collaborations with other clubs such as the Poetry Club and Black Student Union. They are also hoping to collaborate with the other clubs to do a Diversity Day or Week. They also do meetings as needed to talk about campus environment, or introduce the club to newcomers.Sometimes the club has movie nights or game nights just to get to know the other members of the community a little better.
Besides these wonderful events, the Pride Club is very involved in caring for the well-being of its community. As I spoke with Ritz, they mentioned how being in the presidency is an incredible honor but also a huge responsibility.
“As the president, you’ve got to be open to help people in crisis. And you’ve got to help find housing for students… and I do get emails, or like DMS, specifically from prospective students asking about the environment on campus for queer students. Or sometimes I get asked for advice about, ‘how do I come out to my friends?’ Or, ‘how do I come up to my parents?’ And so being able to be a resource for people and a safe space is really important.” (Click here to read some of Ritz’s advice for yourself.)
For Ritz as an individual, Pride Club has been that safe space. Ritz recounted their experience in Pride Club by saying,
“It is the main reason why I’m still here. And it’s the main reason why I didn’t transfer out. Mainly because it has been the most important part of my SVU experience. It helped me know I had a family here, and that made coming out to college for the first time really easy. And I just want to make sure that there is always a presence here on campus to help those who need it, because it helped me in my lowest points. Freshman year was really hard. I faced a lot of explicit homophobia, and I was harassed and I was threatened a bunch. But I was able to go to Pride Club and find safety there and find support there. And all my good memories are with Pride Club.”
You can show support for Pride Club by just being kind and spreading the word about Pride Club. Help make people aware that Pride Club is a resource that anyone can go to and is confidential. So even for people who are not out of the closet, or even don’t identify as LGBTQ+, they can still go to Pride Club and find help. Another thing you can do to show support is to make sure that you’re vocal about fighting any sort of homophobia. If someone’s making a derogatory joke or being unkind, take a stand. To get into contact with Pride Club or be added to the email list you can contact them at haven.ritz@svu.edu or DM them on Instagram @prideclubsvu.
Pride Club: More than Rainbows was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
