Analia Santana receives the youth award from Bronx Borough President
Vanessa Gibson during the annual Pride Month flag-raising ceremony on
Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Bronx Borough Hall. NORWOODNEWS/COURTESY
By Angelina Perez, Web Editor & Asst. Features Editor
Manhattan College faculty members announced the opening of the college’s first Pride Center on campus this summer.
Rocco Marinaccio, Ph.D., and Tiffany French, co-directors of the new center, made the announcement in an email which specified that the center will be on the third floor of Kelly Commons.
French has impacted multiple departments since she arrived at Manhattan College in 2014. From working on the Residence Life staff, to serving as the Assistant Dean of Engineering, to now working as an institutional researcher, French has maintained her sense of advocacy for the students in any way possible and has continued to advocate for a diverse community throughout her positions.
“Along the way, with all those positions, I always tried to advocate for all students who needed help,” French said. “I, as a lesbian woman, always had a focus on making sure LGBTQ students felt included, safe and seen which led to a diversity Climate Survey in 2020, which tackles a lot of issues around racial justice and social justice, especially after the murder of George Floyd.”
French said that one thing she learned from that survey was that in addition to the college’s black students and colleagues on campus feeling discrimination and harassment on campus, there were also high rates of those struggles among MC’s LGBTQ population.
With the research conducted by French and Marinaccio, the pair knew it was time to put together a center for the LGBTQIA+ members of the Jasper community. The LGBTQ Task Force also created the chosen name and chosen gender policy and LGBTQ employee resource group.
“A lot of people were asking about LGBTQ+ stuff on campus.” French said. “We were getting interest from outside organizations that wanted to partner with us. We worked with Dr. Ronald Gray, who’s the VP for student life, and we put a proposal together essentially explaining there’s a lot of research to support that when people are out at work and at school, that their physical cortisol levels drop so they’re able to be more comfortable, which helps people learn better and do better work. It really supports a better campus environment for everybody when they can just be themselves.”
French hopes this center will also open opportunities for faculty to engage with safe zone training and help make their offices or campus spaces more inclusive while opening a broader connection between faith and the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I think this space also gives people an opportunity to dialogue and think about how LGBTQ folks fit into the Catholic space because it can be a little tough for them to navigate their faith and their LGBTQ identity,” said French. “I think that the center is a really good opportunity for us to be able to talk about those sorts of things with one another more comfortably and remember the mission words of respect and dignity for all people.”
Analia Santana, a junior communication major with a concentration in media production and a digital media art minor, is the current president of The Rainbow Jaspers here on campus. She told The Quadrangle how excited she was after hearing the rumors about a pride center opening on campus.
“I know once I became president in the spring semester of last year, I had already heard talks of a pride center,” Santana said. “It was an idea that I was extremely excited about and that our CO advisors, Dr. Rocco Marinaccio and Tiffany French had in the works.”
That was not the only good news Santana received this past summer, as she received the youth award from the Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson during the annual pride month flag-raising ceremony on Thursday, June 1, 2023. Santana had members of the Rainbow Jaspers present at the ceremony, cheering her on, including advisor French.
“I was honestly in shock.” Santana explained. “At first I was surprised. It was really like a surprise party where you don’t know what’s happening next. I walked in thinking it was going to be a little thing and then I walked in and there was house music playing and a DJ. I’m like, wait a minute, what?”
Eric Quinde Tamay is a junior double major in adolescent education and history, who he hopes the new pride center will make sure to incorporate the opportunity for students to educate themselves on the community’s triumph in history.
“This center will definitely be a great place to let students learn more about the community,” Tamay said. “As a history major this is something that is important to me because LGBTQIA+ history is often overlooked and misunderstood. So, this center is a great place to post some interesting facts or moments in history about the community and how the community has grown in the past years, but also how we can continue to grow in the future.”
Melanie Estrella, a double major in peace studies and philosophy, is a local New Yorker who prides her city on the diversity it had to offer her growing up. However, it was a struggle she faced when she started college at MC.
“Personally, as a BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, Person of Color] student I really struggled that first year because it felt like I didn’t have that community,” said Estrella. “And that was something I wasn’t used to because I grew up in New York and I was always around people that were diverse. And so I can’t imagine for the LGBTQIA+ community where it isn’t always as obvious as a person’s reputation, how much harder it would be for them to find family.”
Estrella shared with The Quadrangle her experience regarding the treatment of those part of the LGBTQIA+ community at the college.
“I was an RA last year,” Estrella said, “And I had students that would talk to me about some of the microaggressions they would experience or how they felt like their roommates might treat them a little bit differently based on just the way that they express themselves or identify. So, I hope the center will really be that place of home for those that need it.”
French believes the new pride center will open opportunities for those part of the community to engage in an environment meant to let them bring the best version of themselves without that fear attached to it.
“I think when you get to be who you are, you do your best work, and you go out and do great things from there,” French said. “What I want is for students and employees who identify as LGBTQ to feel that they can bring their best selves to campus and have that little bit more breathing room to be themselves.”
French encourages students and faculty to watch for future events, including a fall grand opening.
“We expect a grand opening in early October because October is LGBTQ history month and campus pride month because we are off campus in June,” said French. “We are looking forward to that, so definitely keep an eye out.”
Anybody who’s interested in getting on the pride center mailing list, volunteering or both can email pridecenter@manhattan.edu.