In 1986 two students approached Dr. Kate Bruce to be the faculty advisor for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) - an organization that the two students were forming in response to harassment on campus.

In 1990,a petition began in the UNCW Student Government Association to halt funding to special interest student organizations, due to the fact that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) had applied for funding that year. [details about the petition to come].

In 1993, Dr. Matthew TenHusien began working at the university and took over Dr. Bruce's role as faculty advisor. In 1993, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) changed its name to People Recognizing Individual Differences Exist (PRIDE). The organization had a short name change in 2001 to Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, and Allies for Diversity (BGLAD) - the previous name of UNC Wilmington's Safe Zone program, but in 2002 changed the name back to PRIDE in order to be as inclusive as possible .