“This is me.”

For rising sophomore Joseph Ortiz — chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Student Government Association — that’s what it means to be a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“This is the way I explain it,” he said. “This is the way I am and the feelings I have.”

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ortiz moved to the United States to finish high school at South Miami Senior High School in Miami, where he lived with his two dads: Roberto Cruz, his mother’s cousin, and Pedro García.

In moving to the United States, Ortiz became more involved in understanding the importance of Pride Month, which was initially recognized by the federal government in 1999, when former U.S. President Bill Clinton declared the month of June as “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.” In 2009, former U.S. President Barack Obama changed the name to “LGBT Pride Month” and, most recently, in 2021, President Joe Biden declared June as “LGBTQ Pride Month.”

“It’s a month where people show to the world who they are,” Ortiz said. “It’s a month of freedom and representation, and it’s a month of celebration. We celebrate the people who have fought for us in the past. It’s a month of celebrating who you are and the people you love and, basically, celebrating that love is love.”

A similar story is that of rising junior Jaimy Cotto de Jesús, also from Puerto Rico.

“I’ve kind of always known I was a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I just didn’t fully understand what it really meant,” she said. “Growing up in Puerto Rico, sometimes there were negative connotations to being LGBTQIA+. Sometimes, people would use derogatory terms, just as they do here, but it’s more prominent there. It wasn’t until recently that Puerto Rico has been more welcoming and understanding of the community. It was when I moved to the U.S. that I started learning a little bit more about life and about the fact that I can have my own experiences and that, even if my parents don’t understand where I’m coming from, it doesn’t mean that my feelings aren’t valid.”

In celebrating Pride Month, Cotto de Jesús — who is majoring in Marketing and Sales — said that for her, June is all about pride.

“You should show pride in being who you are,” she said. “Pride in understanding that there were sacrifices that needed to be made for me to be able to be who I am today, and honoring — and having pride — in the people who came before me is something you should always think about and educate yourself on. Every Pride Month, I try to understand that what I have today is a privilege that many people don’t have still or didn’t have before.”

Pride at Stetson

In search for a place who welcomed them, and a place they could call home for their four years of college, Ortiz and Cotto de Jesús found just that at Stetson: a safe zone. That’s how both described Stetson, and what the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) aims to provide to all students on campus who come from diverse backgrounds.

“We are all human beings,” said Erin Doggette, PhD, director of ODI, which oversees Stetson’s Cross-Cultural Center (Tri-C). “If nothing else, every human being should be respected as a person, that’s the starting point. The other piece to acknowledge is that we are all different. That’s a commonality we share, and we should be respecting others in how they choose to operate.”

The Tri-C offers the Safe Zone program, with the intention of improving visibility and support for LGBTQIA+ students and employees.

“It serves to educate, build awareness, build understanding and bridge differences,” said Alexis Newman, assistant director of Student Success and Retention Initiatives, and the WISE Peer Mentoring Program. “We do several of those trainings throughout the year. That’s one of our big office signature offerings: making sure we are doing the work to include the LGBTQIA+ community and communicate that they are seen and valued and understood.”

Despite most students being away for the summer, the Tri-C still shows its support and observes the month by displaying colorful decorations along with the ‘Coming Out Door.’

“Our Multicultural Student Council organization, Kaleidoscope — our LGBTQIA+ student organization — hosts several events throughout the year,” Newman said. “These events are educational and social community activities but, particularly, they always have a pretty large event for National Coming Out Day, which is Oct. 11. They’ll bring out that door onto the Stetson Green and have folks physically go through the door. That’s one of our favorite events of the year.”

It’s this event, and many others, as well as the kindness, the respect and the acceptance that is constantly spread around the Stetson Community, what allows for a welcoming and inclusive campus where all students can enjoy a nurturing and unforgettable college experience.

“I feel included, respected and loved in this school,” Ortiz said. “Stetson is a small community, but they are very diverse and inclusive. They don’t judge, they love.”

– Andrea Mujica