The Slippery Rock Pride Center and Women’s Center teamed up to create the #SRUNIQUE social media campaign. This online campaign is just one of the many events offered during the month of October, which is Pride Month and LGBT History Month.
This campaign is run through the social media pages for both the Pride Center and the Women’s center of Slippery Rock University. This event started a few weeks ago with online polls for students to write in responses. A popular poll was titled #ProudToBeMe, which allowed students to post something about themselves that they were proud of. Another poll involved students posting GIFs that described themselves onto their social media pages.
Students are encouraged to use the hashtag #SRUNIQUE when they post anything about what makes them unique or why they are proud to be them. These hashtags are being used on Instagram as well as Twitter.
The main purpose of the #SRUNIQUE campaign is to provide students the opportunity to express themselves online; by using these hashtags online, students have the freedom to be who they want and share who they are with the world.
Additionally, another main purpose of the #SRUNIQUE campaign is for students to see that they are not alone and that there is a welcoming community of people that are there to support them. By posting online under the hashtag, students can learn about each other and experience who every person truly is.
Lyosha Gorshkov, the assistant director for the Women’s Center and the Pride Center at Slippery Rock University, is excited about what events like the #SRUNIQUE campaign can do and what they stand for.
“Sometimes people don’t hear each other,” Gorshkov said. “We are all humans, but we don’t always listen to each other. We [the Pride Center] see you and encourage you to be true to yourself.”
That is exactly what the Pride and Women’s Centers of Slippery Rock University are aiming for. Students should have the ability to express themselves and should have nothing to fear. This campaign is to amplify those who have been suppressed and to allow them a safe place to share who they are.
Furthermore, providing opportunities such as the #SRUNIQUE campaign has resulted in uplifting spirits and promoting diversity at SRU, which are two of the main goals of the Pride and Woman’s Centers.
Anther mission behind the #SRUNIQUE campaign and the “SRU Out & Proud October Events” is to educate all students about the message of unity. Feelings of unity allow students to feel welcome and accepted for who they are.
“It is our duty as humans to protect others” said Gorshkov. “We must help others in order to help ourselves.”
By providing online spaces for students to express themselves, other students can learn to acknowledge their differences and get to really know others, which is precisely one of the goals of the #SRUNIQUE campaign. Education is one of the best tools to promote unity amongst students on campus, and in an era where an online presence is a necessity, utilizing social media is a great path to success.
Taking the first step is always the hardest, but with great opportunities such as the #SRUNIQUE campaign, students can share who they are with fellow members of their community as well as be proud of who they are.
