After a nine-year stint in Kinsey Hall, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual
Transgender Resource Center has moved to a new location next to
Bruin Plaza.
Established at UCLA in 1995, the LGBT Resource Center was chosen
out of other student groups to be moved to a room in the
newly-renovated Men’s Gym, renamed the Student Activities
Center.
The grand opening of the center takes place today during
National Coming Out Week, which commemorating LGBT rights.
“This is a dream come true. For the first time, LGBT
students are being treated with respect in terms of the amount of
space being offered to them,” said Steven Leider, student
affairs officer and assistant director for the LGBT Resource
Center.
The center’s location change is one that has been long
awaited by its main staff. Center Director Ronnie Sanlo remembers
the early days of the support center.
The center was allocated a small room in Kinsey Hall where the
first director, Charles Outcalt, worked alone, Sanlo said.
Sanlo was the director for the LGBT Resource Center at the
University of Michigan before coming to work for UCLA in 1997.
When she left the University of Michigan to begin her work at
UCLA she was the only staff member working at the center.
With funding from the campus, Sanlo was able to hire Leider as
the center’s assistant director.
Leider was employed in the banking industry after getting his
undergraduate degree from UCLA. As a student he had actively
volunteered at the center, helping students with LGBT issues and
working in the office.
Leider said Sanlo valued his experience in the banking industry
because he had good customer service skills.
The extra help from Leider allowed the center to have one person
in the center at all times while the other ventured out of the
office to work with outside departments, training students and
staff on sexual diversity issues.
By working alongside other departments and with students on
campus, the center became a more prominent presence at the
university, Sanlo said.
“We have much more visibility, and we have a reputation
for working collaboratively with every department,” she
said.
Though the center gained recognition, the conditions of their
small space limited the services they could offer the
campus’s LGBT community.
The center could not hold support group meetings, students did
not have room to study in the space, and it could not fully house
the LGBT research library Sanlo created.
Using funds given to the center, Sanlo had been building up a
collection of texts on LGBT issues for use by students and faculty.
But all of the books could not be readily available because there
was not enough shelf space.
The center’s new location allows for enough space to house
the 2,000 books in the library. Also, student groups can now hold
meetings in the library while other students can study or relax in
the lounge area.
“(The room) makes a difference from a comfort and
welcoming perspective,” Sanlo said.
The decision to move the LGBT Resource Center into the new
building was made by a group that included Dean of Students Robert
Naples, UCLA Capital Programs and the student affairs office.
When the idea for a Student Activities Center emerged 15 years
ago, the goal was to consolidate groups providing student services
into the center of campus.
Because the LGBT Resource Center was distant from the heart of
campus, organizers decided to move its location.
The importance of the center to students was also a factor in
the decision-making process, Naples said.
“I think all of the (services) that were moved were deemed
to be important, and that’s why we decided to move them to
the center of campus,” he said.
The decision was an important step for the LGBT Resource Center,
but there is still room for improvement, Sanlo said.
One of the major difficulties the center continues to face is a
lack of funding, and budget cuts within the student affairs
office.
“We’re sitting in this gorgeous space … but
we’re really stifled in some of the things we have because
there’s no money,” Sanlo said.
Sanlo and Leider have been trying to raise money for the center
by fundraising and writing grant proposals.
The funding would support programs such as a larger library,
undergraduate peer counseling, and a student leadership roundtable.
Sanlo has been considering the programs as future improvements on
the center.
Though Sanlo and Leider continue to work on funding for their
programs, the space they have been given brings them a step closer
to their goals.
“Moving into this space was like moving out of hell, into
heaven,” Leider said.
The grand re-opening of the LGBT Resource Center will be
held today in Bruin Plaza from 4 to 6 p.m.