Celebrating Pride 2024

_{Alyssa Montiminy, far right, with students at the Second-Annual Gender-Affirming Clothing Swap organized by the Queer Agenda June 4.}

Clark College raised the Pride flag to celebrate Pride Month in June. The college community had many opportunities to engage in various Pride-themed activities on June 4.

Pride celebrates members of the LGBPTQIA2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit +) community and honors the impact Queer and Trans individuals have had on history, culture, and our communities. Pride is celebrated in June every year to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which is now viewed as a critical tipping point in the fight for LGBPTQIA2S+ rights in the United States.

While Pride is meant to be a celebration of identity, recognition of resilience, and a time for a community to gather, we must remember that in many spaces and places, it remains unsafe to be Queer or Trans. It is more important than ever to hold space for community and celebration. Pride events are largely safe spaces for those of us who identify as members of the LGBPTQIA2S+ community to be our authentic selves, to have these identities celebrated, and to honor those who have done the work before us.

Pride activities around campus included:

The Pride flag was raised on the flagpole southwest of the Penguin Union Building and Archer Gallery.

Queer Student Luncheon: The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Multicultural Student Affairs invited the community for a delicious lunch and an opportunity to hear two student speakers share their own stories and lived experiences, then followed up with a robust Q&A interacting with the audience.

Second-Annual Gender-Affirming Clothing Swap organized by the Queer Agenda. People donated clean, gently used clothing and exchanged “new” clothing. Others simply choose some “new” clothing to take home.

Clark’s Bakery offered pride-themed treats including colorful cupcakes and a sundae Pride bar featuring three ice cream treats: Bohemian Raspberry, I Want to Break Free, and Find Mi-So-mebody to Love.

Clark’s Bookstore provided colorful sidewalk chalk and encouraged people to create Pride-themed messages outside the north entrance to Gaiser Hall.

Cannell Library featured a display of Pride-themed books.

PPI (Power, Privilege, and Inequity) Training – Safe Zone: Participants were introduced to the intricacies if the LGBPTQIA2S+ community, reviewed definitions and vocabulary, and discussed heterosexual/cisgender privilege. Participants also learned how to put these concepts into practice at Clark College.

Counseling and Health Center set up a table at Andersen Fountain on June 4. Staff offered candy and fidgets along with information about the center.

The Teaching and Learning Center screened the 1992 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “The Outcast” featuring themes related to ethics, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, conversion “therapy,” legal practices, logic and argumentation, and conformity. Then participants had time for discussion and lesson planning.

White Anti-Racism Education Employee Resource Group (ERG) of faculty and staff centered its meeting on the Intersectionality of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and Queer/Allied Communities.

Upcoming Pride events:

Saturday in the Park Pride: July 13 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Esther Short Park, 301 W. 8^th Street, Vancouver https://www.visitvancouverwa.com/event/saturday-in-the-park-pride/18868/

Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade: July 20-21, Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 98 Naito Parkway, Portland, OR: https://portlandpride.org/