The Queer Alliance and Resource Center (QARC) is a student-run organization that provides social, educational, and safe-sex programming for the Queer / Trans community on campus. QARC also is an umbrella organization for all active Queer / Trans communities on campus.
QARC works to strengthen our community by fostering leadership opportunities, offering basic needs and academic resources, celebrating our history and culture, and ultimately advocating for policies that build towards a more equitable and inclusive community at UC Berkeley.
location
Find us on Google Maps here for general directions.For ADA accessible walkways, approach the Hearst Field Annex (HFA) complex from the north near the social sciences building. Turn to the right into either path indicated by the white arrows.For the stairs, approach HFA from the south near Bancroft Way. Climb up a set of stairs heading north, keeping the Hearst Gymnasium on your direct right. Turn to the left into either path indicated by the white arrows.
Our Space!
We have two open spaces located in Room A15 of the Hearst Field Annex where folks are free to come study and be in community. Pictured here is the front room known as the Cecilia Chung Resource Center.
QT BIPOC Lounge
Connected with the back of the Cecilia Chung Resource Center is the Kayla Moore QT BIPOC* lounge. This lounge is a safe space for QT+ folk who identify as Black / Indigenous / a person of color.
Come visit <3
The space is open to all queer and trans+ students and allies between 12-5pm on weekdays (Monday through Friday). We are run by a dedicated team of volunteers, interns, and directors who you can learn more about on the about page. Want to be more active in providing direct support for the LGBTQ+ community? Check out our get involved page for more!
Study space
Gender-Affirming Closet
Queer/Trans Library
Resource Cabinets
About qarc
History
UC Berkeley’s Queer Alliance Resource Center (QARC) was founded in 1969 soon after the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. It is one of the first student-run and student-initiated LGBTQ organizations in the country & the oldest LGBTQ organization at Cal.QARC originally existed as the "Students for Gay Power," then the "Queer Alliance" after multiple name changes. In 1992, the "Queer Center" emerged as a successor group, with a mission to provide free resources to the community, as opposed to the more activism-centered "Queer Alliance." Together, these two organizations held social events for queer and trans students, advocated on behalf of the UC Berkeley community, and maintained a space with community resources.The "Queer Center" and "Queer Alliance" merged in 2007 into what is known today as the Queer Alliance Resource Center. QARC continues to fight for the resources and space queer and trans (QT+) students deserve at Cal, host programming vital to the developing community, and advocate for more inclusive, equitable policies.
What we do!
QARC acts as an umbrella organization for all on-campus QT+ Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), some of which are QARC-affiliated and receive QARC funding. The QARC space is an open space for all community members and also serves as a space QT+ RSOs can reserve for meetings and events. QARC provides resources including safer sex supplies, menstrual products, clothing and gender-affirming supplies, and mental health resources (for more information, access resources). The organization also hosts both small- and large-scale events throughout the fall and spring academic year for the UC Berkeley community.
Fight 4 Spaces
In spring 2016, QARC was moved to the basement of Eshleman along with bridges Multicultural Resource Center.
Resources
MEET OUR DIREctORS!
The student leaders behind QARC!
Megan Lam is a junior double majoring in Integrative Biology and Rhetoric with a minor in Journalism. They will always be a fan of cafes, matchas, the smell of small bookstores, em dashes, and extracting meaning from the smallest of things. At QARC, you will likely find them in a meeting or with some caffeine in hand, but they are always down to chat!
Madison is an undergraduate student from Orange County CA. She is a senior at Cal double-majoring in Political Science and German. Being in the Berkeley Chamber Chorus, Ski Club, and Latinx Business Student Association she loves to have fun! In her free time she likes to read, doom scroll on Pinterest, and travel. At QARC you can catch her brewing a cup of coffee and watching TV on her laptop. ‧₊˚🌈✩ ₊˚🫧⊹♡
Giselle Eger-Slobig is an undergraduate student from Los Angeles, studying Molecular and Cellular Biology and Economics. She hopes to become a doctor and is currently working at a cancer research lab at UCSF. She likes to play soccer, paint, and go thrifting. At QARC, she is often studying or doing some sort of arts and crafts.
Lilirose Luo is an undergraduate student from Sacramento’s rot-underside of summer. At UC Berkeley, they currently study Rhetoric, Disability Studies, & Creative Writing. They are a big fan of the subversion of touch in the mosh pit, sudoku, thrifting wedding dresses, Jesus Christ, fanfiction & long, long, long lists. At QARC, you can find them napping under a weighted blanket in the Kayla Moore Lounge.
Kailey is a junior studying sociology and attempting to get a minor in human rights. She is a lover of the hit CW show Supernatural and reads fanfiction like bedtime stories. She otherwise calls her friends, plays Fortnite and Roblox, or is on public transit for copious amounts of time. At QARC you can most likely find Kailey attempting to fix something or looking afraid at her laptop. 😋😼👍🥀 Gay love pierces the veil.
During her 9-5, Madison Kim is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Psychology. As for their 5-9, they love to binge watch corny romcoms, are a junk journal novice, an avid enjoyer of the VEO scooter/Easy Stop Deli/Sheng Kee (please sponsor me), and will sometimes partake in the act of sleep. At QARC, Madison finds much amusement scrolling through the free movies on YouTube and playing something to watch in the background while doing work.
Reina Kushihashi is an undergraduate sophmore studying Data Science and Philosophy. If she's not at the library she loves being an amateur film bro, belting her heart out to Beyoncé, dying her hair, and spending copious amounts on matcha in the area. At QARC you'll find her yapping and munching on snacks.
Paloma Delgado is a third year undergrad from ball-Sac (Sacramento) and is currently studying Ethnic Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies, with a focus on Queer and Trans linguistics. They are passionate about bolstering the "swoletariat", making collages, clowning, romanticizing the melancholia, sewing patches, and adding a ":3" at the end of every sentence. At QARC, you can find them planning next week's class for the QARC decal, raiding the snack cabinet, and making increasingly nonsensical mind maps on the whiteboard in Kayla Moore.
Salem Feild is an undergrad student studying Music and Legal Studies here at Berkeley. They love the color green, anything clown-related, and going to local music shows. At QARC you can find them scrounging through the snack cabinet or laboring over endless assigned readings.
Alena is an undergraduate senior studying Sociology and History at UC Berkeley. A transfer student from SoCal, they enjoy rambling about KPOP and cuddling up with a warm cup of hot cocoa and thick fuzzy blankets. At QARC, you can find them working not-so-diligently on the couches, with a few gummy snacks ready to go for consumption.
Alex Rodriguez is a Latino undergraduate student from a hot, small town in the Central Valley. At UC Berkeley, they currently study Architecture with an emphasis on wellness-based design as well as a minor in City Planning. They love listening to and discussing formal, true crime, and Reddit podcasts, as well as going on a swim at GBR after long studio nights and RA shifts. At QARC, you can find them restocking the pantry or hiding in the closet.
MEET OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFF!
Vic Hosley-Sanchez
they/he
Director of Advising
[email protected]
Vic Hosley-Sanchez has been on staff at UC Berkeley since 2014 and has been working with QARC since January 2023. Vic advises the QARC Board of Directors as well as the QT+ RSOs under the QARC umbrella. At QARC, you can find Vic in their office or somewhere in QARC talking with students. Vic is a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor's degree from Texas A&M and a Master's from the University of Vermont. Vic is deeply committed to supporting minoritized students as they navigate college and find their voice. As a first-generation college student, Vic relied on the power of community to succeed in college and graduate school. In their free time, Vic hangs out with their cats, Gloria and Stallion, or goes for a walk around SF.
GET INVOLVED!
as a Community Member
Come visit QARC 12:00-5:00pm on weekdays -- eat lunch, play on our Nintendo Switch, knit a scarf, print a zine, or attend our events! All for free!
as a Volunteer
Help maintain QARC's space weekly -- greet visitors, organize the bookshelves, and make some friends with fellow volunteers! Interested in a semesterly 3-hour/week commitment?
as an Intern
Work together with a director-led small team to organize programming & gain hands-on expertise! Interested in a semester-long commitment to professional development in one of QARC's 7 teams -- Internal Affairs, External Affairs, Finance, Public Relations, Operations, Education & Interns, Transfer & Non-traditional Students, K-12, and Health & Wellness?
as a Director
QARC's Board of Directors organize, mobilize, & support the QT+ community at Berkeley -- through inclusive programming, leading a team of interns, and much more. Applications open at the end of the academic year!
