After experiencing months of renovations by IKEA, the new Intercultural Affairs and LGBTQ+ Resource Center was unveiled to a crowd of impressed and excited students and alumni last week.
Jenelle Howard, assistant director of the center, said the improved furnishing and decor of the center creates a more inviting and functional space for students who need community, assistance or a space to relax in between classes. She said students will be able to use the center to study, lounge, dine, acquire new attire from The Red Door clothing drive and speak to staff members.
The resource center was originally launched during homecoming two years ago as a safe space and community area for students of marginalized identities on campus. Sharon Black, a marketing manager at IKEA Group, said IKEA began renovations during the summer of 2024 as a partnership for Pride Month.
Jose Cadiz, the founding director of the center, said this $90,000 renovation project is only one aspect of their partnership with the furniture company, as IKEA will continue to support Howard students with scholarships and other opportunities.
During the event, faculty and staff spoke about the center’s importance.
Cynthia Evers, senior vice president for student affairs, said the center builds “understanding across cultures and identities.” She also said students can find “support and a sense of belonging” and feel “valued and respected” at the center.
Amari Ice, president of the Rainbow Alumni Association, said this center is part of the reason Howard is the No. 1 HBCU for LGBTQ+ students. Ice also said alumni are here to support the students and encouraged students to reach out.
Howard alum Dylan Davis, a beauty influencer sponsored by IKEA, said when they attended Howard, there were not many spaces for queer students, and the center is a sign the university is evolving.
The ribbon-cutting event heavily focused on the LGBTQ+ side of the center, as there were no speakers or representatives of an international background present.
Lotanna Anozie, a senior economics major from Lagos, Nigeria, and president of the African Student Association said the center is still a safe space for both communities on campus.
“It’s always good to support other people who are non-traditional students on campus,” she said.
She also said it is important for international and intercultural students to “show out” to events like the ribbon-cutting, as the center was still built with them in mind, even if funded with a focus on the LGBTQ+ side.
After witnessing the ribbon cutting, Anozie plans on visiting the center even more than she already did.
“It makes it more personal,” she said.
Howard, a campus liaison for many cultural organizations, said the international students are just as important there.
She also said the space will host many intercultural events in the future, and the logos for the cultural and international student organizations will be in the space as well. She said the office is even creating a new logo for international students.
Howard also said it is important that the intercultural and LGBTQ+ students are housed in the same center.
“Both spaces are together because both groups are marginalized on campus, and international students intersect with being queer on campus,” she said.
Lauryn Ciardullo, a junior musical theater major from Philadelphia, said she hopes this ribbon-cutting event will spread awareness to the student body about the center, as it was previously “more of like a hidden gem on campus.” She also said the center now “is so beautiful,” calling the space comforting and a “great place for students to hang out and be gay.”
Cori-Jaiden Langley, an African American studies major and communications and TV/film minor from Prince George’s County, said as a queer Black student, the newly renovated center feels extremely welcoming and is excited to have a space on campus that primarily serves a community that is “often subjugated, especially within the Black community.”
Langley plans on using the space with their friends.
“I enjoy how safe and simple this feels,” they said.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
