A grand re-opening celebration is being held at the Pride Center on April 25 to celebrate its recent renovation. The event includes a brunch, tours and a time for performances and speakers.
The celebration marks a long journey for the Pride Center, which has been a crucial community space for students for decades.
In 2004, the doors of the Pride Center first opened on A. Avenue, at the southern edge of the Corvallis campus. Previously, LGBTQIA2S+ services and social space had been housed at the Women’s Center (now the Hattie Redmond Women & Gender Center), but it was clear that a permanent space was needed, and the center was placed in a small bungalow owned by the university.
An architect made small adjustments to make the house suitable and drew up plans for a potential future remodel to make the center more accessible and more practical for its new use. But renovation funding didn’t become available until 2022, at which point, the center moved to temporary lodgings in the Student Experience Center while the work was being done.
“The original space was too small even for staff meetings,” said Pride Center Director Cindy Konrad. “We wanted to keep the building and its homey feel,” but change the layout to make the space meet the students’ growing needs.
That included accessibility upgrades like a wheelchair ramp with a lower grade, larger bathrooms and more maneuverability around the rest of the building. It also included new décor and design features in direct response to student requests.
Konrad said an interior design class took on the renovation as a class project and interviewed students and staff to learn about their needs and hopes for the space. Students then drew up different proposed designs and presented those to the designer working on the renovation, who selected ideas from the different plans to use in the center.
“They really listened to what people had to say about what they wanted in the space,” Konrad said. “It’s really special that the students’ experiences and voices were so much a part of the project.”
Ideas incorporated into the space included built-in benches in the dining room, strips of permeable wall surfaces to hang a changing selection of student art and a shift from geometric patterns to botanical prints and lots of light sources. The result is extremely cozy and very well received by students.
“I’ve never seen a student comment on a light fixture before,” Konrad said.
Jasleen Quijano is a senior in radiation health physics, who came to Oregon State from Las Vegas. She started visiting the Pride Center when she first came to the university and became a staff member in 2023. She said she was overwhelmed when she first walked into the newly renovated space.
“When I saw the renovated center, it definitely took some time to adjust to it and not feel like I had to constantly be careful in there,” Quijano said. “My favorite part of the entire center is the kitchen. It’s just really beautiful in there and is a good space for people who need to prepare food but may not have the option to in their own home. I also love our skylights and am super excited for the sunlight to come in as the weather gets warmer.”
With some cultural centers being eliminated at universities in other states, Konrad said it’s more important than ever to highlight how Oregon State supports all of its students.
“The cultural centers are the heart of OSU,” Konrad said, “The Pride Center is a home away from home and provides a soft landing place for students. It’s powerful to be able to serve our students at this time.”
Quijano agrees.
“I think it’s important that OSU provide a safe space like the Pride Center for students because we are living in difficult times where many students’ identities are being attacked or getting erased,” she said. “Spaces like the Pride Center foster community and allow people to let their guards down, relax and just be themselves for a moment. On a more personal note, without the Pride Center, I wouldn’t have been able to meet all the amazing people I have and I wouldn’t have the amount of support and sense of community that I do now.”
The re-opening celebration takes place 11 a.m.-2 p.m., April 25 at the Pride Center, 1553 SW A Ave., Corvallis campus. There will be a formal program from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., but attendees can drop in as their schedule allows.
By Theresa Hogue
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