The LGBTQA Pride Center (PC) warmly welcomed in new and returning students with their first event of the semester, Queer-a-palooza, which encouraged students to start a conversation with one another and openly express themselves through laughs, relatable stories, and free pizza.

The host of the event, Moises Aguilar, had everyone sit in a circle, which grew larger in size as the room filled up with more students. He then explained the rules of the activity for the event. The rules were simple: stand up each time you relate to a statement he reads off from a list. He would start off the sentence with, “Stand up if you…”. Some statements were surface-level while others began to feel more personal. Hesitant students would slowly stand up with uncertainty, but then became more at ease and confident when realizing they are not alone.

The main focus of the activity is to encourage students to feel safe to open up, be themselves and find a community at the Pride Center. CSUSM student Victoria Hua says, “Being able to meet new people this way in the community is really cool.”

After the heartfelt activity, the Pride Center buzzed with students passionately chatting with one another about similar hobbies, interests, and choice of free pizza provided by PC.

When asked what was most enjoyable about Queer-a-palooza, CSUSM student Jon Guerrero responded with, “Getting to know people. Being able to feel comfortable sharing our pronouns.”

The PC is located in USU 3100 and can be found on instagram: @csusm.pride