BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – West Virginia Wesleyan College Campus Life has opened a gender-inclusive learning community for students. The learning community is a space for students who identify with the LGTBQ+ community and learning space that fosters security for those in the community.

The learning community moved to a different residence hall this year due to the need for a more accessible space. With the vast number of students in the LGBTQ+ community, the residence hall floor co-exists as a learning center. It was designed to foster relationships and a safe space.

Kenna Whitcomb, the assistant director of Campus Life, states, “The floor is a learning community designed to foster relationships and provide a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community. In this community, Resident Assistants implement programming surrounding current events, hardships, social, and educational opportunities that involve the LGBTQ+ community.”

Alongside the campus’s efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community, a student-led group on campus has been flourishing with events. PRISM, the queer-straight alliance on campus allows the LGTBQ+ community and allies to interact and discuss what is happening on campus and plan events that bring awareness to the community. 

Cadie Kittle, a junior and secretary of PRISM at West Virginia Wesleyan College states, “PRISM is WVWC’s queer-straight alliance. On campus, PRISM provides a space where students, no matter their identity, can feel empowered and supported. Education and Unity are two major drivers of the organization, and we hope to spread awareness on issues impacting the queer community.

“This semester, we brought back an event that was previously held by PRISM, but died out with the COVID-19 pandemic: the Coming Out Door. The event is held annually on October 11, National Coming Out Day. Students, faculty, and community members alike are invited to step through a door and symbolically ‘come out,’ a term used in the community that refers to an LGBTQ+ person disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity. People were welcome regardless of identity, with many participants ‘coming out’ as allies of the LGBTQ+ community.”

The student-led group has also held discussions with Shauna Jones, director of the Counseling Center, to discuss self-acceptance and survivor’s guilt and with Title IX coordinator, Amy Kittle about LGBTQ+ rights and resources. 

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) is a private, four-year residential liberal arts and sciences college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A tradition of excellence for more than 130 years, West Virginia Wesleyan is home to 14 Fulbright Scholars. The Princeton Review ranked Wesleyan as one of its 2023 Best Colleges in the Southeastern Region of the United States. U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-2023 Best College Rankings designated Wesleyan seventh in Best Value – Regional Universities (South). WVWC offers students nearly 60 majors and 40 minors; graduate programs in athletic training, business administration, creative writing, nursing and clinical mental health counseling; 21 NCAA Division II athletic programs; multiple performing arts groups; and more than 50 organizations. Founded in 1890, the College is closely affiliated with the United Methodist Church and abides by the Wesley doctrine that emphasizes service to others. For more information, visit wvwc.edu.