4th Annual Pride Camp offers Freshmen Insight and Resources

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

Photo via the Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement.

The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement—a program that works to develop programs and services that support the University of Mississippi’s core value of inclusiveness—hosts its fourth annual Pride Camp Saturday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The camp is designed to provide networking services, opportunities and exposure to campus resources for members of the LGBTQ community, according to the camp’s webpage.

Jamie Harker, director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, said this is the only back-to-school event the university hosts for incoming students who identify with the LGBTQ community.

“For a long time there were no resources for LGBTQ students at all at the University of Mississippi,” she said. “It was very difficult to find student groups, social events, classes, or resources [for LGBTQ students].”

The camp will give incoming freshman the opportunity to meet other LGBTQ students on campus, she said.

The camp will have a student panel, icebreakers, and introductions to other LGBTQ organizations and resources around campus.

“[Students] won’t just be sitting and listening,” Harker said. “They will be discussing and engaging with each other.”

Many of the events planned for the camp will give the students not only the opportunity to engage with organizations such as the Pride Network—a student organization that promotes acceptance and respect for individuals of all sexual orientations and gender identities—but also housing, the counseling center and student health, she said.

For more information on The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement, visit their website.