Queer Welcome Week helps students start the year on campus
The LGBTQIA Resource Center will host four days of programming to welcome new and returning students
By ZAYNAB MOHIUDDEEN — campus@theaggie.org
The first week of classes can bring both excitement and the challenge of finding a place to belong. It’s only fitting, then, that the UC Davis LGBTQIA Resource Center plans to host a Queer Welcome Week from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, offering four days of community-building activities.
Located on the first floor of the Student Community Center, the LGBTQIA Resource Center provides an inclusive space for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.
Mindfulness Monday, from noon to 2 p.m., will begin the week with bracelet making, collaging and information about mental health resources available on campus. During Togetherness Tuesday, from noon to 1:30 p.m., students can meet LGBTQIA+ registered student organizations and campus partners while learning how to get involved in programming. Wind Down Wednesday, from 3–4 p.m., will offer junk journaling and magazine-making activities centered on grounding, joy and self-expression. The week will conclude with Queer Trivia Thursday, from noon to 1:30 p.m., featuring LGBTQIA+ history trivia, snacks and prizes.
Blake Flaugher, director of the LGBTQIA Resource Center, said in an email that the program aims to support students who may begin the year without any connections at Davis.
“The LGBTQIA Resource Center aims to promote social connectedness and well-being because we know many students arrive on campus without an established network of support,” Flaugher said. “Many students come to the Center who are not yet out about their LGBTQIA+ identities and/or are still figuring themselves out, and some have been rejected by their families because of their queer identities. We want to help establish those support networks while empowering students to be actively involved in shaping the campus culture.”
The center offered 91 programs during the 2025–26 academic year, according to the university. Last fall, it expanded its usual one-day welcome event into a weeklong program highlighting its resources and LGBTQIA-centered clubs and student groups. Though the welcome festivities are designed primarily for queer students, LGBTQIA Resource Center staff emphasize that all UC Davis students and faculty are welcome to attend.
Azisa Todd, the center’s assistant director of programming and engagement, said that feedback from last year helped staff shape this fall’s schedule.
“[Last year] we learned that students enjoyed low-stakes programming that didn’t require a lot of structure but instead centered community,” Todd said in an email. “This year, we’ve added our Queer Trivia Thursday in celebration of the start of LGBTQ History Month in October! Our goals are to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for incoming and returning students while also supporting the transition back from summer break.”
Beyond introducing students to the organization and resources, staff said they hope the welcome week establishes the center as a place students can return to throughout the year.
“My primary hope is that they will find the Center to be a welcoming, inclusive, joyful and safe space where they can be themselves and feel connected,” Flaugher said.
Students interested in attending can find event details and a list of LGBTQIA-centered student organizations on the LGBTQIA Resource Center’s website. The center provides year-round resources and support, including counseling, coming-out resources, transgender health information, the Gender Affirmation Closet (which has free clothing for transgender and gender nonconforming students) and housing guidance. It is open during the school year on Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Fridays from noon to 5 p.m.
Students looking for additional community resources can explore organizations such as APIQ, oSTEM, Sakhi, the Sapphic Club and Trans-GNC United through the center’s LGBTQIA+ student organization directory.
Written by: Zaynab Mohiuddeen — campus@theaggie.org