A new, larger space for the Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity is now available, giving the Center a chance to host more activities including a bracelet-making session as part of LGBTGA+ History Month.

Students can make these pride flag bracelets at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the basement of Stevenson Hall, where the Center is now located.

LGBTQA+ History Month is a time to celebrate the progress the country and the world has made, but also to refocus and see what still needs to be done for the community, said Mallorie Fonseca, an intern in the Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity.

Fonseca said the bracelet-making session will be a laid-back meeting available to all students, not just EIU Pride members.

This gives students the chance to hang out and relax after taking midterm exams over the last couple of weeks, she said.

“It will be something crafty,” Fonseca said.

Jessica Ward, the coordinator of the Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity, said an intern in the office, Amanda Mead, came up with the idea to make pride flag bracelets.

Ward said when Mead was an undergraduate student, she was on the executive board for EIU Pride, and the group made bracelets back then as well.

This will be a way for students to learn more about the resources the Center provides, as well as a chance to get to know one another, Fonseca said.

Fonseca said interns and staff will not be “flinging info” at students, but the staff will be available to answer questions and give information.

There are books, DVDs and games available for students who are searching for resources.

“(Students) can ask questions so they know we are here and so they know the resources we have available for them too,” Ward said.

This is also an opportunity for students to come see the new Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity, since its previous location was in the Cultural Center at the east end of campus.

The Center outgrew the space in the Cultural Center, so staff members wanted a larger area, Fonseca said.

The walls at the new center have been painted, and new furniture was moved down there.

This will be a permanent move for the Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity.

Ward said since the Center has a bigger location, the staff is able to host meetings and events like the bracelet making session,

“We want to provide different things that get people in the Center (and) provides them with some type of support,” Ward said.

She said the bracelet-making session will “be kind of a chill thing where people come in and make their bracelets, interact and hang out in the Center for a little bit.”

Staff members will provide a lot of beads for students who attend, Ward said.

Kennedy Nolen can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].