The Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity partnered with Family Student Housing to host a Valentine’s Day Mixer on Feb. 5 at the Storke Community Center. Offering food, refreshments and activities, the event aimed to create a community space for those in graduate housing, highlight campus resources and celebrate “all forms of love.”
The RCSGD hosted a Valentine’s Day Mixer to create a community space for those in graduate housing to share resources and celebrate “all forms of love.” Lucy Wellons / Daily Nexus
The Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity (RCSGD) graduate assistant and doctoral candidate in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, Karla Larrañaga, helped organize the event in collaboration with resident assistants from Family Student Housing (FSH). Funded by the Associated Students Trans & Queer Commission’s well-being funds, the event is the first of its kind to mix resources from RCSDG and FSH.
About 50 FSH residents, along with their spouses and children, attended the event, which featured pride flags, buttons, stickers and flyers highlighting LGBTQIA+ campus resources. Attendees were offered pizza, cookies, drinks and other snacks while children participated in activities such as coloring.
Larrañaga saw the Valentine’s Day Mixer as an opportunity to create a community space with graduate students in FSH and inform them of the resources that RCSGD provides on campus.
“We were just motivated to help people in family student housing, specifically to be connected to the Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity,” Larrañaga said. “A lot of undergraduates know that it exists and they utilize a lot of the resources there, but not a lot of graduate students use the space… so this is just a way to help graduate students know that things are happening and that things are available on campus.”
Michelle Moreno, an assistant resident director involved in the event, explained the difficulties with connecting to graduate students and conveyed her appreciation for the event.
“With family student housing, sometimes it’s a little harder because our students are not undergrads,” Moreno said. “Sometimes it does feel like they are a little overlooked. So it is nice when folks like [RCSGD] reach out and want to plan something.”
The event was in the Community Center in Storke Family Housing, located near West Campus Family Housing and San Joaquin Villages. The location of the gathering made it easier for graduate students to attend.
“Most of the time we don’t do small stuff, so I think this is fun. It’s nice to invite residents to do something that is not necessarily low effort, but where they get to just come and hang out, make a craft and then go back home,” Moreno said. “We know that the student population here is super committed to their work and research, and a lot of them have kids, so it’s nice when folks actually include them and seek their attention.”
Kris Ali, a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the linguistics department, spoke on the inclusivity and accessibility of the event.
“I saw that it was an event for grad students put on by RCSGD, and I’m queer myself, so I was really happy to see that it was an event for grad students, but also what was really good was that it was being held in Storke,” Ali said. “I actually live in Storke, so that felt way more accessible to me because sometimes it’s hard to go to campus. I could just meet here and socialize with others, and it just feels like such a special event in that way.”
Larrañaga emphasized her goal of connecting graduate students to the wider UC Santa Barbara community and campus resources.
“My hope is just that people know that the resource center exists and that students should utilize it whether they’re in the community identifying as LGBTQIA+ or if they’re just allies and they want a space to talk to someone and help them figure out the next steps,” Larrañaga said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the Feb. 12, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
