This week SRU is celebrating Pride Week in honor of LGBTQ+ History Month.
October is LGBTQ+ History month. Every year, the organization RockOUT hosts various events on campus for students to get involved and learn more about LGBTQ+ History.
“Pride Week is kind of like our own little mini Pride Month on campus…we don’t have classes during June during actual Pride Month, and we feel that, for a lot of students, there aren’t really ways for them to be open about their identities at home or be able to just feel good about that part of themselves. At campus, for a lot of students, it’s one of the only places where they can feel safe to be open about themselves and just kind of own it,” Ashley Sapar, president of RockOUT said.
“So, our next option was October, because October is LGBTQ+ History Month. We’re not just celebrating ourselves, but we’re also honoring those who got us to where we are now,” Sapar said.
Pride Week will last from Monday Oct. 20 to Saturday Oct. 25.
“For Pride Week…we like to have a bit about LGBTQ+ History Month with bits of pride, to where we can celebrate being ourselves in a space where we can do that,” Sapar said.
RockOUT, Pride Center and Gender Studies programs work together to bring these events to campus.
“I think it’s important that every minority group on campus gets a chance to uplift themselves. Often times, off campus, we face a lot of prejudice and discrimination [and] it can wear on lots of younger people, to where they don’t feel like they have a lot to be proud about themselves. With pride, it’s having pride in yourself the way you are, and we just want to celebrate that and educate our allies along the way. And bring the community together with fun and some entertainment and education,” Sapar said.
The first event of the week is “Pride Week starts with you in blue.” On Monday Oct. 20, RockOUT encourages students to wear a blue top on campus to represent the start of Pride Week.
Tuesday Oct. 21 is “The Journey of Considering What Can Be” with Dr. Nick Daily. This event will be a zoom meeting at 5 p.m.
Wednesday Oct. 22, during RockOut’s originally-scheduled meeting, the organization will be hosting a Pride Arts and Crafts Night in Spotts World Culture Building from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“I think it really is important that, apart from the more educational events and fun events, that we could have more relaxed events where we can come together as a community. Because it does get pretty stressful sometimes within the LGBTQ+ [community] just existing, because some identities come up as hot debates or politics when I really feel like people should just be who they are….Some people just want to meet with other people who understand the stress they’re going through and get to hangout, destress, not think about that stuff,” the RockOUT president said.
Thursday Oct. 23 is “Rock Your White for Trans Rights,” where RockOUT encourages students to wear a white top on campus.
Friday Oct. 24 is Dinner OUT with RockOUT at Boozel Dining Hall from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
In the past, RockOUT has hosted a Drag Show during Pride Week. This year, the organization wanted to bring in something new as well.
Saturday Oct. 25 is Bringing OUT You in the Smith Student Center Ballroom from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“We wanted to have a show where people could also engage in a way for some people who might be new to drag, and also people who never really did much with makeup. Because a big thing we want to make with Bringing OUT You is how there’s this assumption that makeup is just for women, or makeup is just to make you look pretty, but makeup can be used in a lot of ways. Not many other people might know this, but you can use makeup to enhance features you already have, feminine or masculine,” Sapar said.
Individuals can follow tutorials at different makeup stations during the event, and at the end, students will be able to take home makeup goodie bags.
“Honestly I think it’s so important that we have these events to allow students to have these spaces where they can get to know more about the LGBTQ+ community. If you’ve never really sat down and talked to, or know any LGBTQ+ person in your life, it could be really easy to get these misconceptions where you don’t understand, or you’re afraid of it, or you just get these assumptions in your head. I feel it’s important for us as students to interact as a community, because in person it’s just a lot more approachable if you’re in a space where you’re all doing something together…these conversations could just come up naturally, and I think one of the most important things is to come together as a community,” Sapar said.
More information about all the events can be found on CORE.
“Events like RockOUT’s Pride Week events, and what the Pride Center is doing to celebrate LGBT+ History Month, really gives that space for LGBT+ students and allies to come together to celebrate those differences and learn from each other,” Sapar said.
