ALEXANDRA BODE | Staff Reporter

Butler University will be participating in Campus Pride Month this April.

Campus Pride Month is a month dedicated to celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning pride on campuses across the nation.

“As Alliance, we are really excited about this because this will be our time to show campus that we are here,” said Emma Salter, president of Alliance, the LGBTQ student organization.

Campus PrideNet, the only national online network for LGBT campus groups, was founded in 2001.

Alliance has planned, and will be participating in, a couple of events for the month.

One event is a pride party in the Efroymson Diversity Center. This will be a celebration with a variety of fun activities on Thursday, April 24.

Another event is National Day of Silence, celebrated on Friday, April 11.

This event is being put on by Alliance, along with the PuLSE Office.

National Day of Silence is a day when people vow for a day of silence in remembrance of all those people died due to hate.

“We are really embracing this month to show people we are here,” Salter said.

Darlene Brown, a freshman member of Alliance, identifies in the LGBTQ community as transgender.

“A lot of students here don’t realize how diverse our campus really is,” Brown said. “Being able to show them through Pride Week will be amazing and hopefully open some eyes.”

Butler University provides support and services for the LGBTQ community year round, not just during Campus Pride Month.

“We see students in individual therapy and also do several outreach events raising awareness around issues of sexual identity,” said Steve Hines, staff psychologist for counseling and consultation services.

They also provide Safe Space training to raise awareness of the LGBTQ population.

“We want to make an impact and show campus that we are present on campus to make Butler more LBGTQ friendly for current and future students,” Salter said.