Proctor Dining Hall has a new neighbor. On April 6, a vibrant and enthusiastic crowd of people swarmed the common room of the college’s newest space on campus: The Prism Center for Queer and Trans Life. Located in the Farrell House at 24 Hillcrest Road, the building was packed from wall to wall with students, faculty, and town residents and task force members who played a major part in the building’s development and construction. Attendees were eager to celebrate the center’s official integration into the Middlebury community.
The afternoon began with socializing, food, and arts and crafts. Attendees were encouraged to decorate banners to adorn the interior of the Prism Center alongside other student-contributed artwork, murals and painted quotes.
Once the initial clamor of arrivals began to settle down, Prism Center Director Janae Due stepped up to the mic to give the crowd an official welcome. Due’s speech delivered a powerful message to the audience about how meaningful the establishment of a space like the Prism Center on campus is for LGBTQIA+ students, queer BIPOC students and the college community as a whole, particularly in light of recent anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and antagonism across the United States.
“While I hope the Prism Center brings insurmountable joy, I hope the center can also be a place of solace, to hold grief and engage in community for healing, justice and transformation,” Due said.
Due also praised the efforts of the Student Government Association (SGA) and President Laurie Patton in helping to bring the idea of the Prism Center to fruition.
The SGA raised the idea back in 2019 of creating a space on campus exclusively dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ students. In response, Patton assembled a task force of campus partners who recommended the college establish the Prism Center.
Despite plans for the creation of the center beginning in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the physical construction process until the summer of 2023.
Patton spoke at the opening event about the long journey to the opening of the Center, stating that the establishment of a space like the Prism Center is “a day that is so long overdue.”
Though the Prism Center is still in its infancy, the response from students has already been one of resounding support and enthusiasm for the events and activities already held by the Center prior to its official opening day.
“Queer and trans students, and all students, deserve to have a space to be,” Due told the attendees of the event. “To be themselves, to figure out who they are, to question, to challenge and be challenged [and] to explore the world, politics, identity, and ideas safely with people that care about them, their success, their hopes and dreams and their lives. I hope the Prism Center is that space for them.”
In addition to being a community space, the Center serves as a place where queer and trans students can find physical resources such as Narcan kits, external and internal condoms, dental dams, hygiene products and TransTape. The Center is also working to develop numerous initiatives, including a permanent gender-affirming closet, after-hours access, drop-in counseling hours and more identity-specific affinity spaces for the near future.
As the Prism Center expands, so will its array of events and resources for students. The space is currently open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, during which time anyone can stop by to watch TV, make themselves a meal in the kitchen or just chat with folks in the Center.
