Houston’s Stonepath Initiative hosts a Town Hall on campus on Friday, April 10, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
In the wake of Senate Bill 17, political science senior Weidy Rodriguez Castro, computer science senior Celeste Cabrales and psychology and public health junior Elyse Tran have founded the Stonepath Initiative. The initiative aims to connect queer students to resources in the Houston area.
SB 17 amended the Texas Education Code to prohibit public universities from having a diversity, equity, and inclusion office or engaging in other activities related to DEI.
After SB 17 was signed into law in 2023, UH closed its Center for Diversity and Inclusion, as well as the LGBTQ Resource Center. More recently, the University removed gender-neutral restrooms in the Graduate College of Social Work in compliance with Senate Bill 8.
“Over the last couple of years, our rights have really been heavily under attack,” Tran said. “I just wanted to help students on campus know that they’re not alone and that we are still fighting together.”
Stonepath held its first town hall on April 10 to solicit feedback about what concerns exist for queer students.
Mechanical engineering sophomore Aric Buehring said the town hall made it easy for students to participate and foster a sense of community.
“We talked about experiences unique to being queer and how that may look different to different people,” Buehring said. “It was a great change of pace and very much worth my time.”
In addition to creating a shared safe space, one goal of the initiative is to build a resource directory that students can utilize for support.
“We want to fill in those gaps,” Rodriguez said. “Knowing about the Office of Equal Opportunity Services, they can help if there’s any sort of discrimination going on, or if you have felt targeted. I know sometimes in our community it’s a struggle to tell others what has happened to us, because you feel like you have to come out first and then tell your experience.”
The directory, Castro said, will build on the efforts of existing student organizations like GLOBAL and the LGBTQ Alumni Network. Stonepath, however, is not affiliated with the University.
One of Stonepath’s future plans is to launch a community art journal.
Ultimately, the initiative aims to honor its namesake, the Stonewall riots, a major part of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and a precursor to the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
“We wanted to pay homage to those who came before us, who did very similar stuff to what we’re doing,” Castro said.
For now, Stonepath is running a campaign where students are encouraged to put rainbow stickers around campus, from bike racks to railings to lamp posts.
So far, Tran said the community reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I think it’s really encouraging because sometimes when you turn on the news, the most negative voices tend to be the loudest,” Tran said. “It’s just a good reminder that that is not the majority. Those are just the people in power, and we have strength in numbers.”
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