Luca Maurer, director of Ithaca College’s Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services has had a life-long impact on countless alumni for two decades.
Luca Maurer, director of Ithaca College’s Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services has had a life-long impact on countless alumni for two decades.
After 20 years, Ithaca College’s Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services is celebrating a new beginning in a new space. Previously located in the basement of Hammond Health Center, the LGBT Center has relocated to 110 Towers Concourse, where it will share a space with the BOLD Scholar program.
For Luca Maurer, director of the LGBT Center, the impact of the move goes well beyond having a new physical space.
“It's incredibly meaningful to be able to finally have a home that better reflects and supports what our students need. And to have that institutional support is wonderful.”’
Luca Maurer, director, Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services
“It's incredibly meaningful to be able to finally have a home that better reflects and supports what our students need,” he said. “And to have that institutional support is wonderful.”’
Last Thursday, the LGBT Center and BOLD hosted an open house inviting the IC community to come celebrate the move into the new space. Students, faculty, and staff christened the Center's new home with snacks and laughter.
The Center’s rainbow-striped door was constructed by Sybil Conrad, director of Campus Center, for National Coming Out Day on October 8.
In addition to the open house, the Center will be hosting events throughout the year to celebrate its two decades of impact on the IC campus.
On October 8, there was a celebration in honor of National Coming Out Day, and it featured a unique, homemade touch: a large, rainbow-striped door that was constructed by Sybil Conrad, director of Campus Center. One side of the door features student-painted rainbow stripes, while the other has students’ handprints in rainbow colors.
As part of the event, students had been invited to anonymously answer post-it note prompts on what coming out meant to them for others to read. Some of the prompts included, “My advice for LGBTQ+ people coming out is...” and “Something I wish my younger self knew…”
“I’m hoping through that display [the prompt wall], students will know that they are not alone and will be able to have the benefit of taking in the experience of other folks,” Maurer said.
Maurer stressed the importance of National Coming Out Day being for celebration, and not pressure to come out.
“What I want to do is support every person in deciding what's best for them and having all the resources and support that they need in order to determine what that is. Whether that means they come out on National Coming Out Day or they came out three years ago or they absolutely know who they are and right now just does not seem like a very good time to tell people in their life for a variety of reasons– my office is here for them.”
Luca Maurer
“I think now some students feel pressure, and I want to relieve some of that pressure because in the end coming out is about yourself, so you first have to feel comfortable and safe if you decide to come out,” he said.
Making students feel comfortable and safe is something Maurer has been doing at the Center since its 2001 inception. Over the last 20 years the Center has accomplished so much more than just providing a physical space to support IC’s LGBTQ+ community. They have continuously impacted policy, accessibility, and awareness for LGBTQ+ issues on campus.
Maurer said that his goal for the event was to make students feel seen and ensure that his office is an open-armed resource for the campus community while also having fun.
“The LGBTQ center was created by former students, so this is their legacy. I'm just here to help move it forward. To play an active role and know your own history is to be seen and heard and recognized.”
Luca Maurer
“What I want to do is support every person in deciding what's best for them and having all the resources and support that they need in order to determine what that is,” Maurer said, “Whether that means they come out on National Coming Out Day or they came out three years ago or they absolutely know who they are and right now just does not seem like a very good time to tell people in their life for a variety of reasons– my office is here for them.”
Maurer, who has played a primary role in organizing and supporting the growth of the center from the beginning, says he owes it all to the students.
“The LGBTQ center was created by former students, so this is their legacy,” he said. “I'm just here to help move it forward. To play an active role and know your own history is to be seen and heard and recognized. I just didn't think that one event could do that justice.”