The LGBTQ+ Center Newsletter
July 2025
More information on any of these topics can be found on our blog, and more info about research opportunities can be found on our website.
Announcements
A sincere, heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us with June’s fundraisers. Thanks to your contributions, we can do even more to support WVU’s students this year!
We’re having a great time getting to know all of our new friends in the Division of Student Life. Being more connected to our WVU Community helps us help you, and we’re so thankful we found a new home with incredible friends.
Events To Look Forward To…
Details can be found on our Google Calendar, our Events Page, and our Instagram.
LGBTQ+ Center & True Colors Picnic
- Date: 8/18/2025
- Location: Mountainlair Green
- Time: 11:00-2:00
This is a picnic hosted by the LGBTQ+ Center, the LGBTQ+ Club, and our partners at ResLife, REACH, and Carruth to introduce everyone to the students living on the True Colors floor.
Let's all play some games, eat some food, and get to know each other better so we can jump into an exciting new year!
Alphabet Soup Series
- Dates: 8/25, 9/16, 10/15, 10/17, 10/23, & 11/10
- Location: LGBTQ+ Center
- Time:11:00-1:00
The LGBTQ+ Community is sometimes fondly called “alphabet soup” because of all of the different letters in the acronym–but what do they mean? And how is anyone supposed to figure out what they all are, on an empty stomach no less? We’re here to help.
The LGBTQ+ Center invites y'all to share a bowl of soup with us while we explore many of the different identities, cultures, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community.
- 8/25- Trans History Month
- 9/16- Bisexual Awareness Week
- 10/15- All About Pronouns
- 10/17- Spirit Day & Genderfluid Visibility Week
- 10/23- Ace Awareness Week
- 11/10- LGBTQ+ Veterans
World Suicide Prevention Day
- Date: 9/10/25
- Location: Mountainlair
- Time: TBD
Join the LGBTQ+ Club and the LGBTQ+ Center, as well as our friends at REACH and Carruth, this September 10th for World Suicide Prevention Day. We will be outside of Hatfield's from 10:00-4:00 at an information booth on mental health and suicide awareness on campus, and then we’ll be joining Carruth’s party on the Green.
Whether you're interested in learning how to help yourself or how to support others during a mental health crisis, finding resources, recognizing warning signs, managing stress, and navigating difficult moments, we'll have information available to build the skills for making it through mental health crises.
Campus Wide Pride Annual Mix & Mingle
- Date: 9/12/2025
- Location: Mountainlair Ballrooms
- Time: 5:30-8:30
Welcome back to Campus, y’all! The LGBTQ+ Center and our friends invite you to experience an evening of connection and curiosity. We’re hosting a mix & mingle to bring together members of the LGBTQ+ Community and our allies from all across campus. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, refreshing drinks, and engaging conversation while you play games, make crafts, and explore all sorts of resources at WVU!
Feel free to forward this newsletter, and don't hesitate to contact us with any questions at lgbtq@mail.wvu.edu.
Finding Your Voice Through Purpose
- Dates: Fri, September 19
- Fri, September 26
- Fri, October 3
- Location: Mountainlair, Mountaineer Room
- Time: 12:00-1:00 pm
The LGBTQ+ Center, Purpose Center, and REACH are joining forces to help you learn to become the advocate that you want to be! In this three-part lunch and learn workshop, you’ll identify your values, explore your strengths, and figure out how to balance your responsibilities as a student with pursuing your passions and meeting your own needs outside of the classroom. Lunch is on us, so bring your curiosity and your enthusiasm! Register by clicking on the event title above.
Get Involved With Student Orgs!
LGBTQ+ Club
The LGBTQ+ Club strives to create a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ+ students and allies by building community, supporting each other, promoting visibility, and advocating for equality on campus.
The first meeting will be August 20th, after which people will be getting together at The Co-Op for Our Place.
This Club takes trips to Kennywood, sponsors craft nights, hosts the Ga(y)la at the end of the year (this year is a garden masquerade theme), hosts events to support charitable causes in the local community, and more! You can join the Discord server here to keep in touch with other students and be notified of events.
OUTLaw
OUTLaw is the WVU College of Law’s LGBTQ+ student advocacy organization. It serves to foster open communication and networking between LGBTQ+ and straight communities while educating students on LGBTQ+ rights issues. OUTLaw annually hosts renowned guest speakers on LGBT issues. They aim to make sure WVU Law students are exposed to the issues of the civil rights movement of our time.
Details about upcoming events will be released after the semester starts, but previously OUTLaw has sponsored free name change clinics, attended the Fairness WV Gala, hosted guest speakers, and more.
Rainbow Coats
This is the medical school’s LGBTQ+ multi-purpose student organization that aims to spread awareness to both medical students and the medical community at large of the unique concerns regarding the LGBTQ+ community and allies from the perspectives of both LGBTQ+ physicians and patients.
They also provide a safe zone for LGBTQ+ individuals, a friendly and non-judgmental environment, encouragement and mentorship to peers, learning opportunities on issues concerning LGBTQA in medicine, community outreach and activism, and opportunities to network with the community and future colleagues
Fall and Spring movie nights are already planned!
Safe sex materials & information distribution is in the works.
West FURginia
West FURginia is a club dedicated to enjoying the art of anthropomorphic animals and their portrayals in media. We are most active in our discord server in the WVU student hub, but also occasionally host meetups in the WVU/Morgantown area.
Social opportunities, super active Discord server, movie nights, and more!
oSTEM (Out In STEM)
We want to help LGBTQ+ students and allies achieve their academic goals, build community, and network with people from all over the US by breathing new life into WVU’s chapter of oSTEM! This org provides fantastic opportunities to everyone interested in STEM-related careers.
This year, oSTEM’s 15th Annual Conference is from October 16-18. More than 1,100 LGBTQ+ students, professionals, and recruiters in STEM fields from across the country and around the globe are gathering in Baltimore to share a space that's designed for attendees to share their professional and personal experiences and learn from one another. The Career & Graduate School Expo at the conference allows attendees to connect and network with professionals, academics, and colleagues from STEM industries and universities.
For more info, contact brian.powell@mail.wvu.edu.
NEW! Gamma Rho Lambda
An all-inclusive social sorority emphasizing tolerance, diversity, unity, and trust wants to start a chapter at WVU! Gamma Rho Lambda (GRL) welcomes potential members of all genders, sexual and romantic orientations, races, cultures, and abilities, and offers a network of assistance in the areas of scholastic guidance, emotional support, and community service.
Anyone interested should email Becca Rohn at becca.rohn@hsc.wvu.edu.
LGBTQ+ Speaker’s Bureau
Do you want to be able to talk about your experiences as a student at WVU and beyond, but you’re not sure how or who would listen? Want to get some practice public speaking with your peers, but without so much pressure to have the “right” answer? Do you have a unique window into life on campus as an LGBTQ+ person, or as an ally?
The LGBTQ+ Center is looking to get a student speaker’s bureau re-established at WVU! Learn how to share your story, and the effect sharing your story can have, from one of WVU’s original LGBTQ+ Speaker’s Bureau presidents. Email Julia Myers at jmyers17@mail.wvu.edu with any questions.
Community Corner
This section is open to the public! Events outside of WVU are posted here.
Our Place
- The Co-Op 131 Pleasant Street, Morgantown
- Wednesday, August 20th from 6:00-10:00 pm.
- Monthly, every third Wednesday
- All ages 18+ welcome
Looking for even more queer stuff to do after the first LGBTQ+ meeting of the semester? Great news!! You can hang out with some of the locals at Our Place to get a sense of the broader community in Morgantown and enjoy the best vibes in town.
Wednesday, August 20, 6pm - 10 pm, drop by anytime!
Play games, dance, eat, and hang out with other queer folks someplace cool besides a bar. Comfortable couches, good lighting, and great eats right next door at BCMac.
Come join us at Our Place, a calm, relaxing, safe space for our people at the Co-Op in Morgantown. Early evening so you’re not out too late!
The Rainbow Room Sex Education Summer Session
- Every Sunday from June 1 - August 24
- Online
A nationally expanded, weekly “Listen and Learn” sex education virtual series led alongside incredible LGBTQ+ health educators from all across the country.
Register for June’s webinars on Register for June’s webinars on HIV/AIDS: Health, History, Advocacy, and the PrEPsent of Access (8/3), Modern Queer Healthy Relationships (8/10), Body Image, Body Changes, and Transitioning (8/17), and Queer Family Building (8/24).
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Research - Call for Participants
List of academic research in need of participants. Studies must be IRB approved. Priority will be given to research being conducted as a requirement to fulfill academic degree.
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Summer Hours
We will be open from 8:15-4:45 Monday through Friday.
You can reach us by email at lgbtq@mail.wvu.edu
Check out our events page or subscribe to our Google Calendar to be the first to receive more information.
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West Virginia University
LGBTQ+ Center
lgbtq@mail.wvu.edu
304-293-9594