Ensuring Belonging for All
Pride Week at the U is unstoppable!
The University of Utah celebrated Pride Week with a series of events that highlighted the LGBTQIA+ community’s resilience.
David Hawkins-Jacinto • April 5, 2023
The LGBTQIA+ community has faced extraordinary difficulty and discrimination in the past year. From the ongoing attacks on trans youth in sports, to bans on queer literature and reading events, to the toll the pandemic has had on LGBT teens, to the recent shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs—the queer community has again faced incredible stress and strain. But despite the persecution and hostility, Shelby Hearn, assistant director of the LGBT Resource Center, says events like Pride Week at the U are vital to the community for coming together and finding solidarity in community.
“We’ve seen events like this before, and it didn’t stop us then—and it’s not going to stop us from celebrating and thriving now,” Hearn says. The assistant director notes the way that legislation and policy have often been designed to divide the LGBTQIA+ community, using shame and exclusion to push them into silence and invisibility.
“Throughout history, the queer community has been forced into isolation to survive,” Hearn says, “so events like Pride are even more important for us to create spaces where we can be together and support each other.” It’s these elements of community, connection, and belonging that were at the heart of the U’s Unstoppable Pride Week.
Not even a surprise spring snowstorm could dampen the mood of this year’s Pride as the kickoff celebration featured games, pizza, and community in the LGBT Resource Center. On Tuesday, the Block U was wrapped in the Progress Pride flag colors—a University of Utah tradition—followed by the first LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff talent showcase and mixer. On Wednesday attendees were treated to the Pride Plaza (featuring LGBTQIA+ owned businesses and ally craft-makers and vendors) and in the Union Ballroom, organizers hosted a gender affirming clothing swap meet and salon where students and staff were invited to pick up fashion items that fit their own style, expression, and identity. Then capping off the night in the Crimson View, a dazzling showcase of talented performers thrilled and delighted spectators in the Unstoppable Drag Show.
Other events during the week included a panel discussion on LGBT experiences in the workplace—and on Saturday, the week’s activities culminated in Queer Prom, including a special assembly for queer and trans students of color (or QTSOC), organized in collaboration with the Latinx Student Union, M.E.Ch.A., and others.
Despite the inclement weather, the University of Utah’s Unstoppable Pride Week was a grand success that offered something for everyone. To learn more about events and find out how you can be involved in next year’s Pride Week planning committee, follow the LGBT Resource Center on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.