Before Pride Place, junior Brennan Lewis was unsure if they would have a "normal" first-year experience in their dorm room. As a non-binary student, they wondered if their physical safety and mental health would be in jeopardy.
With other LGBTQ+ students, allies and the support of the University's administration, they decided to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ students to live and study.
Pride Place, now in its second year, is a residential learning program in Cobb Hall dedicated to forging relationships within the LGBTQ+ community.
Before Pride Place, each student had to be assigned a specific housing placement based on their individual needs.
Pride Place residential adviser Cameron West received the same training as RA's in other residential halls, but he is also responsible for creating a curriculum for bimonthly meetings. During these meetings, a topic is discussed with all members of Pride Place, most recently on a TED Talk about labels, identities and how society perceives them.
Pride Place stresses community immersion with monthly meal and movie nights, allowing non-LGBTQ+ members of Cobb Hall to participate every other month.
"It gives me great satisfaction to know that every member has something in common," West said. "They have something they can relate on, to a certain extent, which allows them to connect with one another. And seeing that over the past few weeks has been incredible."
Sophomore Janae Gamara discovered Pride Place when browsing the housing website prior to her first year. Coming from a high school with a small number of LGBTQ+ students, Janae knew that coming to UNC would be a big adjustment.
“It just feels like home," she said. "There are a lot of different identities within Pride Place that you wouldn’t get to know elsewhere."