by Ronak Chadha ‘25
This past week marked the first time Bellarmine has hosted a Pride Week, presented by the Gay Straight Community (GSC)! Announced during last week’s Unity Assembly on Thursday, the goals of Pride Week were to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, our own distinctive identities, and to be men for and with others by learning about ways to stand up for justice and equality. And with the Day of Silence on Friday of last week seeing representation from students all over campus, the Pride week kicked off on a high note.
Each day of the week featured treats such as OtterPops, which were sold for $1 each to support the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that has been focused on suicide prevention for members of the LGBTQ+ community since 1998. On Monday the Mothers’ Guild and Dad’s Club gave out ice cream to all students and on Thursday Bells were given raspados (shaved ice) from Las Familias Unidas! Throughout campus, banners and flags with their characteristic rainbows were flown, from the balcony of Lokey to the stairwells of Sobrato.
Bells were also provided with the opportunity to join the Queer Media Viewing Party in the Andrade Theater every day at lunch to watch media with Queer representation. While in the library, Bells were encouraged to offer a kind word of support to Belalrmine’s LGBTQ+ community by dropping a note in the affirmation box.
Tuesday and Wednesday featured Pride Summit Sessions for Bells. With 8 unique speakers over the two days, and three 20 and seven 40-minute sessions to choose from, Bells learned what it means to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, how those who identify with this community are excluded, and how to respond to this exclusion and stand up and walk with the excluded. Tate Lee, who attended Mr. Marcel’s Tuesday session, thought that the time was well spend, and found Mr. Marcel’s support of his students’ journeys to be compelling and insightful. All Bells who attended a Pride Summit Session were entered into a raffle for a $100 Teaqueria gift card.
Pride Week is just one example of how Bellarmine encourages an inclusive culture and fosters acceptance of all genders, races, religions, and identities, embodying the school motto of “To be men for and with others.”
Ronak Chadha is the ASB Liasion and a staff writer for the Bell Online. Check out his articles on the Bell Online, the Perspectives section, and the Online Podcast.