Student Interest Group Brings 'Pride' to USU

Spectrum’s student president Navy Ensign Thomas Renner speaks to a gathered crowd during the unveiling of a brick in the university’s courtyard welcoming LGBT+ students.

By Ian Neligh


“When you understand where people come from, you are less inclined to judge them or have a bias against them.”

Navy Ensign Thomas Renner, and his colleagues in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences student interest group, Spectrum, organized a series of activities throughout the month of June aimed at bringing understanding and awareness to the issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community. 

The four-year-old Spectrum’s mission is to help educate and advocate for the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students on campus, and the annual national Pride Month observance offered an opportunity to highlight that mission.  Pride Month is held each June in recognition of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City that pitted law enforcement against the LGBTQIA+ community, who fought back, and which marked a turning point in gay rights.  

A brick with text that says: "To the LGBTQIA+ students & staff of USUHS: You are needed. You belong”
USU's student group, Spectrum, kicked off Pride Month with a June 1 "Brick
Unveiling" at the university's campus courtyard, which drew some 40 students,
faculty, and staff.
Spectrum’s series of events kicked off with a “Brick Unveiling” ceremony on  the university’s paver-covered campus courtyard, drawing students, faculty, and staff.  The brick, engraved, “To the LGBTQIA+ students & staff of USUHS: You are needed. You belong”, was an idea that Renner had to help make LGBTQIA+ persons feel welcome at the university.

“I see it as a physical recruitment and retention device, so that people applying will say, ‘I will be supported at this university,’” Renner said. “It’s a little harder to tell an applicant outside of a conversation about the culture — but these physical reminders, I hope, will help with that.”

Renner also said that he saw the event as a great opportunity for LGBTQIA+ students to become a literal part of the foundation of the school.

“(And) to make it known that we do belong here, because our service members and beneficiaries come from all different backgrounds, including identifying as LGBTQIA+, and without representation in healthcare, their care is suboptimal,” Renner said. 

On June 10, the group held “Term Talk” -- an event to help others learn how to be more inclusive and aware of how language and gender identity can form a relationship with a provider.  

“(And) how it can allow individuals to have agency in determining their healthcare outcomes,” said
Spectrum’s vice president Navy Ensign Lance Culjat. “And kind of get that discussion going especially because it is something that is relatively new and wasn’t a part of our education a decade ago… but we felt was a needed conversation.”

Spectrum also sponsored a campus screening of the movie, “The Normal Heart,” which addresses the HIV-AIDS epidemic in New York City during the 1980s.

Spectrum’s last event was the “Just Ask Panel: A Space for Sharing and Reflection” held on June 22.

“We’re bringing people from all across the university who identify as LGBTQIA+ to come in and share their experiences and allow for others to ask questions they may not be comfortable asking in different settings,” Renner said. “So it’s a non-judgmental learning opportunity for those who may be a little uncomfortable.”

A group of people from Spectrum standing in the USU Courtyard
Spectrum's mission is to help educate and advocate for the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students on campus. In addition to the "Brick Unveiling," Spectrum
set up many events during Pride Month to encourage education and inclusivity at USU. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Navy Ensign Thomas Renner)

Renner said during the month it was special to see people who wouldn’t normally go to Pride events show up wanting to learn more and support their family or friends.

“(That) is truly what Pride is all about,” Renner said. “…We believe all service members, regardless of how they identify, whether it be a person of color or their sexual minority status, we want them to be represented and treated with dignity and respect by all healthcare providers.”