One student group on campus has plenty to be proud of.

The Rainbow Pride Union serves four main purposes according to co-director Ethan Lewis, a sophomore human development major. RPU provides support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transexual and Queer (LGBTQ) community. It also advocates on important issues, offers a social setting for its community and educates the campus on queer issues.

Previously known as the Gay Student Union, the LGB Union and the Queer Student Association, RPU has been a part of Binghamton University since 1971.

“We’re here to be a safe haven and a social place for the LGBTQ community,” said Co-Director Carlos Ali, a senior marketing major.

The club meets weekly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in room 302 of the New University Union, which has a University-backed privacy policy.

“This means that anything seen or heard in here stays in here,” he said.

On April 4, RPU members spoke to eighth grade inner city kids on queer issues.

“At the end of program we had some students come to us because they weren’t able to tell their friends about some of the feelings they were having,” Ali said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, be a support for people, so it was a very successful program.”

One of the club’s initiatives is to install gender-neutral bathrooms throughout campus, according to Ali and Lewis. The bathrooms would be single-stall, like family bathrooms, and would make it easier for transsexual students to decide which bathroom to go to.

“Being outside gender norms is enough, but when you use bathrooms it can be dangerous,” Lewis said. “It’s a basic need most people don’t even think about, but gender-neutral bathrooms would make it a lot safer for everyone.”

There are now two such bathrooms in the renovation plans for the Old University Union, but RPU is pushing for more on campus, Ali said.

“David Bass [Student Association president] has been a strong supporter, and the Union was very receptive to the idea,” he said. “It wasn’t a hard fight.”

RPU also hopes to bring free and accessible HIV/STD/STI testing to campus.

“Since the highest risk group for HIV is people ages 18 to 24, it’s extremely important to make testing available on campus,” Ali said.

Though testing is available at Health Services, HIV tests cost $41, syphilis $54, and chlamydia and gonorrhea $101 each. Free testing is available at the Broome County Health Department on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., but few students take advantage of it because of obstacles such as travel, according to Lewis and Ali.

“Last year we had an event where 300 students got tested by the Department of Health on campus, and we want to have a similar program at the end of April to kick off [the initiative],” Ali said.

“Cornell is having a huge outbreak of syphilis, and it’s not impossible that this could happen here,” Lewis said. “If people don’t know about it, how can they get treated?”

This year there were a total of nine diagnoses of syphilis in Tompkins County, at least three of which were associated with Cornell University. According to The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell’s student newspaper, the county usually sees one such diagnosis per year.

RPU also has many other programs planned for the rest of the semester.

On Tuesday, April 8, at 1:30 p.m., RPU will host a program in room 335 of the New Union called “Out in the Workforce,” in which a representative from Goldman Sachs will discuss coming out in corporations and available legal rights.

At 7 p.m. the same day, there will be a program in room 302 of the New Union discussing and educating students on intersex issues.

RPU also has plans for the Day of Silence, April 25, which is dedicated this year to Lawrence King, a 15-year-old middle school student who was allegedly murdered because of his sexual orientation.

“Our direction has changed with the times,” Ali said. “Sometimes there’s more of an emphasis on support, other times we’ve needed to be politically active. We base ourselves on the needs of the community, and now the community needs support, advocacy and a social setting, so we provide all three.”

In the future, RPU may push more toward a direction of advocacy, according to Lewis.

“We want to become more diverse, work more with issues of gender identity and expression and embrace the entire community,” he said.