The mural reflects the now modern-day, welcoming environment for all in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Courtesy of Casey Standriff
By Savannah Carr
This year, the USF St. Petersburg Housing and Residence Life started a new Living Learning Community: the Stonewall Suites. On Sept. 27, the residents commemorated their first year by designing a mural in their lounge.
“I did not originally apply for the program, but it is a cool program,” said Lukas Walters, the resident assistant for the floor. “This semester’s goal is to build the program for LGBT students to have a place to come together. Since it is the first year, we did not have many students join.”
The Stonewall Suite LLC is located on the third floor of Residence Hall One and is designed for LGBTQIA+ students to have a place in which they can live and “create a synergy to drive awareness, respect, and advocacy for all gender identities and sexual orientations on the St. Petersburg campus,” according to the housing website.
The LGBTQIA+ community includes students who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transexual, queer, intersexual and asexual, as well as allies to the community.
According to Walters, the Stonewall Suites’ name was inspired by the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, which occurred when the gay community retaliated against police who raided the Stonewall bar.
The mural reflects the now modern-day, welcoming environment for all in the LGBTQIA+ community. So far, the mural has a black heart overlaid against a rainbow brick background.. The finished product will feature the name “Stonewall Suites” and the year the community was established.
To become a part of the Stonewall LLC, students must apply via the online housing portal.
