URI Sexual Liberation Month 2024
Calendar of Events
Week 1:
Event: GSC Community Breakfast
Date: Wednesday, Oct 2, 2024
Time: 10-Noon
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
We are kicking off Sexual Liberation Month with a warm and welcoming Community Breakfast! This event aims to celebrate the richness of our community while fostering relationships that can support and uplift one another. We believe that cultivating connections among students is vital for promoting a sense of belonging, particularly for those who may feel marginalized or isolated. By creating a welcoming environment, we encourage open dialogue, mutual understanding, and camaraderie among all attendees. During the breakfast attendees will have a chance to network, connect, engage in discussion, and learn about ways they can be involved.
Event: GSC Game Night Social
Date: Thursday, Oct 3, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Join us for an exciting evening of video games and board games! Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or new to the scene, there’s something for everyone. Bring a friend along, or come solo and make new connections here! We have Mario Kart 7 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Just Dance, Mario Party Superstars, and Mario Tennis Aces for the Nintendo Switch as well as a host of classic Nintendo Wii games available. We also have plenty of fun board games to choose from. Come hang out and game in your way in an inclusive environment.
Event: Queer Hikes
Date: Saturday, Oct 5, 2024
Time: 10-12 pm
Location: Meet at the Gender & Sexuality Center @ 9:30 am
Hike together with members of Queer Hikes, a supportive LGBTQ+ community hiking group! All are welcome and encouraged to participate! We will be tackling the Great Swamp Management Area, a flat, 5-mile trail inhabited by diverse wildlife. This area is home to a number of species; it is inhabited by numerous and easy to find bluebird boxes and osprey nests, contains extensive forested freshwater wetlands, and is home to red maple and cedar swamp trees. Great Swamp covers a total land area of 3,349 acres. Acreage is divided among the following cover types: wetlands, forest cover, agricultural land and other lands. Exercising with friends is a great way to destress after a long week of classes- we hope to see you!
Week 2:
Event: Sex In the Dark Panel Discussion
Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Join us for a panel discussion on sexual health, consent, preventing STI’s and more with expert panelists, Dr. Carolyn Howard, Nurse Practitioner Allison Jedson and Violence Prevention and Advocacy Services Coordinator Kelley Ryan. This is an opportunity for students to gain resources, seek perspectives, and to get to know members of University staff who are available to help them. This event is for community members who are 18+.
Event: Cassie Black Keynote Dinner
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Cassie Black, is an NYC-based writer, content creator, reiki master, performer, herbalist, and activist. She is deeply committed to promoting positivity around sexuality and empowering individuals to reclaim their narratives in a stigmatizing society. On October 10, 2024, Cassie will lead Empowering Conversations Around Sexual Health and STIs, tackling critical issues such as slut-shaming and societal stigma. She will share her extensive insights on providing support to individuals navigating their diagnoses, emphasizing the vital role of community and open dialogue in fostering sexual well-being. Through her engaging approach, Cassie aims to create a safe space for discussion, encouraging attendees to challenge misconceptions and embrace healthier attitudes toward sexual health. This event is for community members who are 18+.
Event: National Coming Out Day
Date: Friday, Oct 11, 2024
Time: 11-2 pm
Location: The Quad
Come on out to National Coming Out Day on the Quad! The Gender and Sexuality Center will be hosting an afternoon with resources, music, activities, and booths from allies in our community, and the Sexuality and Gender Alliance club will be present to take photos with our iconic rainbow door! You will also have the opportunity to meet with staff from the Gender and Sexuality Center to learn about all the other events we have this October. You don’t have to come out as LGBTQ+ – you can also come out as a friend or an ally!
Event: Drag Ball: Emcee Host Ninny Nothin
Date: Friday, Oct 11, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Memorial Union Ballroom
Have you ever seen a drag show before? Come see our annual Halloween Drag Ball, hosted this year by Ninny Nothin! Whether this is your first drag show, or you’ve seen many, Ninny and her incredible line-up of local performers will surely bring a fun and spooky time! We aim to hold an inclusive and artistic space where all are welcome to be themselves. This event is for community members who are 18+.
Week 3:
Event: Pronoun Day Booth
Date: Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024
Time: 11-2 pm
Location: Memorial Union Booth 4
Visit us in the Memorial Union to learn more about the importance of personal pronouns. We aim to be visible and support our trans & non-binary community in a central location on campus. We will offer takeaway items like stickers and pins, as well as resources for our current events, support groups, and ongoing initiatives. Come check us out and have a chat!
Event: Speed Dating & Friending
Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Looking for love, friendship, or personal connection? Whether you are looking for a date, a friend, or anything in between, join us for our Speed Dating & Friending night! This is a great opportunity to put yourself out there and get to know new people. We aim to be an inclusive space where students can express themselves and feel celebrated for who they are. This event is for URI students only. You must be 18+ to participate.
Week 4:
Event: Intimate Partner Violence Presentation ft. Kelley Ryan and Violence Prevention Advocacy Services
Date: Monday, Oct 21, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Learn more about intimate partner violence at this presentation held by Violence Prevention Advocacy Services. Unfortunately, intimate partner violence disproportionately impacts the LGBTQ+ community. Through this event, students will gain the education needed to recognize the early warning signs of intimate partner violence in both their own relationships and those of their peers, and become familiar with on-campus resources available should they ever need to access them. Additionally, we wish to promote the visibility of an existing allied partner on campus. Through having VPAS present at our event, LGBTQ+ students will be able to know they have strong allies there in the case they need the resources VPAS provides.
Event: Painting, Pumpkins & Pizza
Date: Wednesday, Oct 23, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Looking for an opportunity to get creative this Halloween season? Join us for autumnal art night by painting pumpkins! We will offer a variety of art supplies so that you can turn a small pumpkin into a work of art! Whether it’s with paint, googly eyes or stickers, we have lots of available arts and crafts to facilitate your vision. This is also an excellent event for getting to know other students and community members! Pizza will be provided.
Event: Rocky Horror Picture Show LIVE ft. RKO Army
Date: Friday, Oct 25, 2024
Time: 8-10 pm doors 7:30pm
Location: Edwards Auditorium
Let’s do the time-warp again! It’s a late night double feature picture show! The RKO Army will join us to do a live-cast performance and showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Don’t know what Rocky Horror is? It’s a campy comedy classic from 1975 – and RKO Army has been performing Rocky Horror Picture Show ever since 1978! Every year this event continues to be a blast- come find out what keeps this double feature alive for nearly fifty years! This event is explicitly for community members who are 18+.
Note: This event features loud noises and encourages audience interaction. If you are especially sensitive to noise, you may wish to attend a different event at your discretion.
Week 5:
Event: HIV/ STI Testing
Date: Monday, Oct 28, 2024
Time: 4-6 pm
Location: Health Services, Health Promotion Area—Lower Level
We are offering free HIV/STI Testing at URI Health Services! We encourage those who are sexually active to get tested regularly – it’s important in keeping yourself and your partners safe and aware. We recognize that it can be hard to set up an appointment, so we set up a safe space where any URI community members can be tested in privacy.
Event: Come As You Are Book Discussion (Ft. Robbie Bouffard)
Date: Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Gender & Sexuality Center
Join Robbie Bouffard from URI’s Human Development and Family Science Department to discuss the book Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski. Come as You Are is a tell-all about female sexuality based on groundbreaking research and brain science. Nagoski’s book hopes to will promote wellness and self-understanding surrounding sexuality, consent and bodily awareness. This event is for community members who are 18+.
Event: Sex Toy Bingo [This event has been cancelled.]
Ever play Bingo before and think, “Well, this is fun, but it’s a little boring and the rewards just aren’t good enough!” You won’t be saying that here! Join us for our final event of Sexual Liberation Month, Sex Toy Bingo! We will be giving away a free sex toy after each round of Bingo! In between each round we will be sharing important sexual-health education about sexuality, wellness, consent, STD/STI awareness, available on-campus resources and more. This event is explicitly for community members who are 18+.