PRISM opens as a meeting space for students with intersectional identities

A new space has opened on campus to create community, have conversations, and foster learning through educational and unique programming focusing on women, queer students, and their allies.

PRISM, an acronym for the PRogressive Intersectional Space to Meet, is managed by the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Resource Center and is located on the second floor of the Campus Center in the former Reading Room.

“We realize that our student population is evolving and changing, and every student brings not just one aspect of identity, whether they are a Caucasian woman, an African-American man, or identify as non-binary with different abilities,” said Shawna Lusk, senior associate director for student belonging. “We want to recognize that we celebrate that, and we have a space for whatever identity people are bringing with them.”

Lusk said data has shown that almost 35 percent of RIT’s student population identifies as a gender or sexual minority.

“PRISM is a space that allows us to meet student needs and encourage learning from one another and sharing lived experiences,” she said.

Skye Murphy, assistant director of 2SLGBTQIA+ Programs and Outreach, hopes PRISM will be a community and programming space that is a welcoming and affirming environment, with its focus not only on intersectionality, but also on queer students, women, their allies, and those working to become allies.

‌

Ye Hlaing/RIT

Visitors tour PRISM during its open house Sept. 16 in the Campus Center. The space, operated by the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Resource Center, features more than a dozen works of art by three artists with intersectional identities, including two who attended RIT.

“We want it to be a champion for celebrations, advocacy, and education, in addition to fostering and providing space to uplift and empower,” Murphy said. “PRISM should be a place for students to find their community, to learn, grow, and for the campus to use this space to come together.”

Opened on Sept. 3, the space has already been used in orientation and training for the Disability Leadership Scholars Program, and student groups have been holding weekly meetings there.

“I am extremely excited about the opening of PRISM,” said Eliot Gavin, a third-year museum studies major from Conesus, N.Y., who serves as the Women’s Senator for Student Government. “I hope that this space can serve as a place for all women and non-binary students to be themselves and be a place where they can recharge.”

Also located in PRISM is a low-sensory space, specifically designed for people in search of a calming and quiet environment. Designed with consultation from RIT’s Spectrum Support Program, the space is soundproof, offers variable lighting, and has comfortable furniture with lots of textures.

And PRISM also houses a fully operational branch of RIT Libraries, where its PRISM Library collection of related materials is housed.

The space has been completely renovated and is decorated with pieces of art by three artists with intersectional identities, including two who attended RIT.

“It’s important for us to have art that reflects the intended users of our space,” Lusk said. “We have 13 pieces now, and we intend to add more.”

PRISM is open when the Campus Center is open. Groups may reserve space through EMS or reserve.space.edu. Community hours are set aside each weekday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. when no one can reserve the space, so anyone from the RIT community can show up then to hang out or do work. At other times when the space is not reserved (a screen posted outside the entrance will list a schedule of reservations), students may tap their RIT identification to open the door.