October 1, 2025
The Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) at Oakland University is turning 20 this October and will kick off Alumni Reunion Weekend with a celebration of OU’s campus LGBTQ+ community and the critical allies who have helped in the fight along the way.
The GSC’s 20th Anniversary Ga(y)la will bring together generations of student leaders, staff and faculty, and beloved community members at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9 in Banquet Room A inside the Oakland Center in celebration of the unbroken chain of LGBTQ+ activism spanning from the 1970s to today.
“We will be honoring our former GSC coordinators and students organization presidents, along with other important figures who made our office possible, including a special tribute to Glenn McIntosh,” said Blake Ilan, coordinator of the GSC.
Current students, alumni, current/former faculty and staff, and their families (chosen or legal) are invited to RSVP here and attend this free event.
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| Blake Ilan, coordinator of the GSC |
“We have more openly LGBTQ+ students than ever, but they are living in a world that isn't that much different from the ones us alumni lived in,” Ilan said. “Most aren't out, most don't have supportive families, and most haven't had real queer community before. The energy that sparked all of this is still very much alive, and has grown into a version of the future we all worked so hard for. It's far from perfect, but it's certainly worth celebrating.”
Founded in 2005, the GSC supports the retention and graduation of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, queer, intersex, and asexual or otherwise non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender) students through education and retention initiatives for all members of the OU community.
“For the first half of its life, the GSC was both the University's LGBTQ+ Resource Center and its Women's Resource Center, the latter of which has not existed since 2016,” Ilan said. “Critical work was done to spread awareness about consent, sexual assault, domestic violence, healthcare access, and more. This included annual presentations of The Vagina Monologues and an annual Take Back the Night march.
“In a pre Me Too world, these courageous students went above and beyond to help others safely navigate traumatic situations and institutional barriers. The impact of these students and staff is immeasurable, and this aspect of our work is sorely missed, and needed, by the current OU community. We are grateful to the campus partners who have continued to facilitate some of the programming once delivered by the GSC.”
In 2022, the GSC relocated from the Oakland Center to its new home in North Foundation Hall (104J), but that was only one of many significant changes the GSC has gone through over the years.
“Creating the Center and then advocating for the Center to be staffed full time were two of the most important steps towards the campus our students experience today,” Ilan said. “Beginning before the Center started, the push to add sexual orientation to OU's nondiscrimination policy was foundational to the later fight to add gender identity and gender expression. Models of activism from these initiatives served as critical for students who went on to advocate for gender inclusive housing, gender neutral bathrooms, preferred name systems, and eventually an LGBTQ+ centered living learning community.
“The day-to-day experience for transgender and nonbinary students in particular is vastly different now than it was in 2014, let alone 2004. Through decades of hard work, patience through slow progress, and intergenerational collaboration — we were able to make change that can now be seen.”
In addition to events like the 20th Anniversary Ga(y)la, the GSC Welcome Reception, Transgender and Nonbinary Celebration Month, World AIDS Day, Pride Month, and the Lavender Graduation, the GSC also hosts a variety of programs and support/education services throughout the year, including:
• QTPOC @ OU is a weekly discussion and social group cosponsored by the GSC and the Center for Multicultural Initiatives. This group aims to provide space for OU students to discuss how they experience the intersecting impacts of racism, heterosexism/homophobia/queerphobia, and cissexism/transphobia/sexism.
• Gender Together is a weekly support group cosponsored by the GSC and OU Counseling Center. This group aims to provide space for students to freely explore their gender, to grow in their understanding of their relationship to gender, and to find community amongst others with similar experiences. Those interested in joining this group should complete this form prior to their first intended meeting.
• Community Nights offer the OU community opportunities to connect with people who share their identities, and to learn more about diverse queer experiences. The GSC currently offers monthly community nights focused around five identity categories: sapphic/lesbian, multisexual (bi, pan, queer, etc.), asexual/aromantic, achillean/gay, and transgender/nonbinary.
• Training Opportunities for OU students, staff, and faculty are also available - more information can be found here.
• Day of Learning is a day-long educational experience focusing on a specific LGBTQ+ identity or intersection which takes place once each fall and winter semester.
• The Queer Agenda is a weekly meeting from 3-5 p.m. on Wednesdays in the GSC for LGBTQ+ and ally students, staff, and faculty to build leadership skills, learn political and media literacy, and work together to build a more just world.
For more information about the GSC, visit https://www.oakland.edu/gsc. Those wishing to donate to the GSC to help it maintain and expand its programming may do so by clicking here.