Programming and Events
Events and programs focusing on LGBTQIA+ concerns, culture, and identities are held all year on campus. The Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center staff provides various services to campus and community members.
October 2025 is LGBTQ+ History Month!
1 WED Kickoff at Campus Lake (Becker Pavilion at Campus Lake | 2-4:30 PM)
Music, pumpkin painting, food, and fun! Join us in celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month and learn about everything happening in October!
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center and the Saluki Rainbow Network.
2 THU Queer Salukis Townhall (Ohio Room, Student Center | 7-9:30 PM)
A conversation on concerns and experiences the LGBTQIA+ community faces at the local and national level. Learn about your representation at the university level and help them better serve you!
Sponsored by the Saluki Rainbow Network, SIU Safe Zone, the LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Council, the Lavender Alumni Network, and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
3 FRI Queer Cinema: Pelo Malo (Sharp Museum Auditorium | 5-7:30 PM)
"A nine-year-old boy's preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother." Spanish-speaking film with English subtitles! Popcorn, candy, and soda provided!
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center, the Hispanic/Latino Resource Center, and the Cine Club of the School of Languages and Linguistics.
The Shame Book (Moe Theater, Comm Building | 10:45 PM)
It's an October 3rd miracle! No Shame is doing Mean Girls! No Shame is a monthly variety show for students, by students. Come and perform (or show, exhibit, etc.) anything you like! THERE'S NO SHAME! Free entry with suggested donation of pantry goods.
Sponsored by SIU No Shame Theater.
4 SAT “Of Love Forbidden: An Exhibit of Lesbian and Gay Literature” (Hall of Presidents, Morris Library | 1-3 PM)
“Of Love Forbidden” will be in the Hall of Presidents all October. Join us on the 4th for light refreshments and a talk about preserving queer literature.
Sponsored by the Southern Illinois Queer Archive.
6 MON Transition Your Closet (Curkin Center, Student Services Building | 12-4 PM)
Clothes, hygiene products, safe sex materials, resume checks, career readiness tips, all free! Located in the Colorful Closet, two doors down from the Curkin Center in the Student Services Building. Just down the hallway, the Career Development Center will be offering free resume checks!
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center and the Career Development Center.
7 TUE Safe Zone LGBTQIA+ History (Student Services Building 170 | 3-4:30 PM)
Learn all about LGBTQIA+ history in this Safe Zone special session in celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month! To sign up, email juniper.oxford@siu.edu!
Sponsored by SIU Safe Zone.
Name + Gender Correction Session (Morris Library 139 | 5-7:30 PM)
Volunteer peer support will be available to help you complete forms and discuss your questions concerning legal name changes, birth certificate correction, and more from 5 until 7:30! Volunteers are familiar, often from personal experience, with the name and gender change correction process. While we are offering support, neither this organization nor any of its volunteers is offering legal advice, representation, or other service of this kind.
Sponsored by DITO - Downstate Illinois Trans Organization and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center
9 THU The Great Trivia GAYme (Student Services Building 170 | 1-3 PM)
How well do you know queer culture and history? Your Great Trivia GAYme host Juniper Oxford will pepper teams of contestants with queer questions with the chance to win fun prizes! Spectators welcome!
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
10 FRI KEYNOTE: Jeanette Mott Oxford (Guyon Auditorium, Morris Library | 3-6 PM)
Jeanette Mott Oxford, our 2005 LGBTQ+ History Month keynote speaker and SIU alum, returns to Southern Illinois University to give the 2025 LGBTQ+ History Month keynote--and take us through the perils and progress of the past twenty years. Jeanette Mott Oxford (alum, '86) is an American activist and politician from Missouri. Oxford served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, representing a portion of St. Louis, and was the first openly lesbian member of the Missouri Legislature. Jeanette will be joined by zir fellow Missouri State Representatives to talk about the intersections of queer and racial justice. After, we will have light refreshments in the rotunda just outside the auditorium.
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
11 SAT Carbondale Pride Fest (Carbondale Pavilion & Washington Street | All Day)
Sponsored by the Southern Illinois Pride Collective.
13 MON Craft and Kiki with CAPS (Student Services Building 170, 1:30-3:30 PM)
Let's talk queer mental health and have a craft session! Decorate the inside of a mask to represent your authentic self and the outside to show how you present to the world. With this, we will explore themes of visibility, concealment, and self-expression.
Sponsored by Counselling and Psychological Services
14 TUE Queer Cinema: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Sharp Museum Auditorium, Faner | 7-9:30 PM)
"France, 1770. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly." Popcorn, candy, and soda provided! Stay after to dissect the queer themes of the film with your fellow campus gay folx!
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
15 WED International Pronouns Day (Curkin Center, Student Services Building | 10 AM – 3 PM)
Celebrate the day by customizing your own pronoun pin at the Curkin Center! Open all day so drop in before or after class!
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center
School of Theater and Dance Presents Falsettos (Moe Theater, Comm Building | 7:30-10 PM)
Falsettos is the tale of a neurotic New Yorker named Marvin, who leaves his wife Trina and young son Jason to live with his lover, Whizzer. In time, Trina marries his psychiatrist, Whizzer leaves him, and Marvin ends up alone. Two years later, Marvin and Whizzer reunite on the eve of Jason’s bar mitzvah, just as AIDS is beginning its insidious spread. With the help of their neighbors, Charlotte and Cordelia, Marvin and his entire family learn to grow up and face their future with love and dignity.
Sponsored by School of Theater and Dance and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center
17 FRI Women, Gender, and Sexuality Symposium (Room 1326, Faner | 5-8 PM)
An interdisciplinary research symposium of students, staff, and faculty of SIU Carbondale on the topic of women, gender, and sexuality studies.
Sponsored by Saluki Rainbow Network and Women Gender and Sexuality Studies
21 TUE Preserving Pride: Building a Southern Illinois Queer Archive (Student Services Building 170 | 1-2 PM)
A home for local queer history is being built at SIU! Want to join our project as a volunteer or learn about what we are currently up to? Preserving Pride will give details about the Southern Illinois Queer Archive--and the path we are forging ahead to preserve queer culture in the region.
Sponsored by the Southern Illinois Queer Archive.
22 WED Waffle Wednesday (Curkin Center, SSB 145 | 11 AM-1 PM)
Free waffle bar with all the fixins! Come for the waffles, stick around to check out our cool spaces in the Student Multicultural Resource Center office.
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center, the Student Multicultural Resource Center, and HEROES.
23 THU Healthy Queer Relationships (Student Services Building 150 | 1:30-3:30 PM)
It's Purple Thursday. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their relationships. Join Confidential Advocate Rose Robinson-Berkman for a candid discussion on the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships that might affect LGBTQIA+ students. Discover what resources are available and the importance of community in preventing violence.
Sponsored by Wellness and Health Promotion Services and SIU Safe Zone.
24 FRI Closing Reception: Queer Stories, Queer Spaces (Sharp Museum, Faner | 5-8:30 PM)
Closing reception for the exhibit Queer Stories, Queer Spaces: Southern Illinois Histories and Queertographies. We will have food, drag performances of local legends, and fun! Come learn about Southern Illinois' storied queer past.
Sponsored by Sharp Museum, Library Affairs, Golden Rainbows of Illinois South, SoIL Sisters, Southern Illinois Queer Archive, and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
25 SAT LGBTailgate (Student Tailgate Area | 11 AM-2 PM)
We are grilling out with hot dogs (veggie dogs included!) and all the sides! Catch up with your community and show up for your fellow Salukis before the big game! Look for the pink top tent and you'll find us.
Sponsored by the Saluki Rainbow Network, the Lavender Alumni Network, the LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Council, and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
Spooky Saluki Costume Dance (Student Center Ballrooms | 7-10 PM)
Free costume dance! This year's theme: wild west! Break in that costume before the big Halloween festivities.
Sponsored by the Saluki Furry Society and the Saluki Rainbow Network.
26 SUN Intersex Awareness Day (Gaia House Interfaith Center | 3-6 PM)
Commemorate Intersex Awareness Day with DITO! We will be watching a short film and a movie centering intersex voices. We will have snacks and drinks, and a post-film talk.
Sponsored by DITO - Downstate Illinois Trans Organization
Pride Affirming Worship Service (First United Methodist Church, 5 PM)
Hosted for the first time by First United Methodist, with involvement by other local affirming churches.
27 MON Safe Zone Retreat (Student Services Building 150/160 | 8 AM - 4 PM)
An all day retreat focused on bringing inclusivity to your workplace! Learn about LGBTQIA+ terms and terminology, etiquette, culture, specific considerations, and history. Breakfast and lunch provided. To sign up, email juniper.oxford@siu.edu.
Sponsored by SIU Safe Zone and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
28 TUE You Better Werk: Queer Career Panel (Student Services Building 150/160 | 1-2:30 PM)
An all-queer panel of career-minded Salukis! Hear about the good, the bad, and the ugly of their experiences being out in the workforce--and what they would do differently if given the chance.
Sponsored by the Lavender Alumni Network, the Career Development Center, and the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
30 THU Queer Cinema Spooktacular: Cuckoo (Sharp Museum Auditorium, Faner | 7-9:30 PM)
For Hallow's Eve, we are watching Cuckoo, a movie featuring trans actress Hunter Schafer. Come in your finest (and spookiest) costume for a chance to win our contest! Award winners will be announced at intermission. Arrive before the start of the film to enter. Movie starts at 7:15.
Sponsored by the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center.
31 FRI Rocky Horror Shadow Cast (Varsity Center | Midnight)
A shadow cast for a Halloween midnight show! Rocky Horror returns to the Varsity--with reduced ticket prices for SIU Students!
Weekly Meetings (Students Only)
Kaleidoscope: LGBTQIA+ Support Group (Mondays at 4 PM in Student Services Building 170)
Saluki Rainbow Network (Tuesdays at 6 PM in Mississippi Room, Student Center)
Transitions Support Group (Wednesdays at 3:30 PM in Morris Library 480A)