On January 31, 2023, the Doyle Center for Gender and Sexuality held an open house welcoming Annabelle Steffen, the new Doyle Center Coordinator, to our campus. The event had a great turnout of various faculty, staff and students attending to chat with the new coordinator. Annabelle Steffen has many new and interesting plans for the current and following semesters in the Doyle Center.

Steffen explained, “My plans and goals for the semester with the Doyle Center is to help the space feel like a safe space for all of the students on campus. The Doyle Center has the capability of being a sanctuary on campus for all students, especially women and LGBTQ+ students, who may not feel they have a safe place to go and study, socialize, or express themselves.” Kari Hill, Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion, added “Doyle Center serves as an integral role on our campus as an education tool, resource, and environment for students on the campus in regard to women’s and gender topics.”

Steffen hopes to make the area more accessible to various students, and one way she is doing this is by having consistent programs each week day for the Doyle Center.

Mondays at 4:00 p.m. is a Peer Support Group. On Tuesdays, there is a group game night starting at 4:30 p.m. with extended hours until 8:00 p.m. On Thursdays, there are Diversity, Equity and Inclusion meetings at 4:30 p.m. Every other Friday there is also a possibility of a movie night being held within the Doyle Center.

Annabelle Steffen and Beck Hanner, Doyle Center Student Workers, have been planning some larger events such as sex toy bingo and safe BDSM technique demonstrations, as well as more serious programs, such as Take Back the Night and the Lavender Graduation.

Various students are coming to the Doyle Center to study, hang out with friends and enjoy the new programs that are being offered. Students have enjoyed the changes in the room making it more open and welcoming to many different students who often walk by. The rearranging of the room and programming is creating a common area for all of the students to create their own community on campus.