The Pride Center and the Women’s Center combined into one new organization over winter break called the Pride and Gender Equity Center (PAGE Center). The new center is located on the third floor of the Ceddia Union Building (CUB) in Room 232. 

Although two centers are being combined, the individual goals and staff are not being lost, Arielle Catron, the director of the PAGE Center, said. 

“The Pride Center and The Women’s Center were already so collaborative on so many things and we have a lot of the same goals. It just made more sense to combine efforts than to possibly repeat each other's efforts,” Catron said. 

“The name is more representative of the work that we do,” Catron said. The PAGE Center is focused on becoming more efficient and more accessible to students and while continuing the services provided by both previous centers. 

To bring the centers together, both of the centers directors worked with Laurie Davis, the dean of students, Barry McLanighan, chief student affairs officer, and Nicole Santalucia and Jayleen Galarza, SU professors and the co-chairs of the LGBTQ advisory board, according to Catron. “We are very grateful to those folks for making this happen,” Catron said. However, the joining of the centers has brought some concerns. 

Students have shared concerns that there would not be a safe place for students who gathered at the Pride center after combining with the Women’s Center, Catron said. Students worried that there would be TERFs (transgender exclusionary radical feminists). These are people that do not think feminism includes transgender women and do not see transgender women as women, Catron said. 

“I want to state clearly for all students that this is not the case here. Trans women are women. People of every gender identity are welcome to use our services and to use the spaces and we hope they feel safe doing that. The Women’s Center has never been tolerant of transphobia and we [the PAGE Center] won't be now,” Catron said. 

Even before the creation of the PAGE Center, The Women’s Center had been discussing a name change. Male identifying students felt they could not utilize the resources offered by the Women's Center because of name association, Catron said. 

“The name Pride and Gender Equity really speaks to the truth that women experience discrimination but there are also ways gender discrimination or gender oppression affect men. We want men to be able to feel like they can come and learn more about gender and how gender roles impact all of our lives,” Catron said. 

While men are also victims of abuse, male students did not use the confidential counseling the women's center provided to the same degree as female students, Catron said. 

The PAGE center brings values from the missions of the Pride and Women's Center into their own goals. Equality, empowerment, ending violence and pushing back against all forms of discrimination are central to the PAGE Center. All students are welcome at the PAGE center to use their service, volunteer or attend events. 

Students can find more information about the PAGE Center on their new website www.ship.edu/life/resources/pride/. 

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