The message was clear - protestors demanded the establishment of places where LGBT+ people could go and be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest. Johnson, leading the movement to continue over six days with protests and clashes. Among the many leaders of the riots was a black, trans, bisexual woman, Marsha P. Top banner image is courtesy of Ryan Peters and features the progressive pride flag, which was painted on The Rock on the night of April 17 by PRISM and Spectrum, the South and East Neighborhood LGBTQA+ Caucuses.On a hot summer’s night in New York on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, which resulted in bar patrons, staff, and neighborhood residents rioting onto Christopher Street outside. With that, I want to part by telling any young queer people reading to hang in there because it’ll get better. Being at a dance where people could love whomever they wanted and dress however they wanted gave me hope for the future.Īt the end of the day, we all just want to be ourselves and love whom we love without shame. Different groups will do different things for April, but the highlight for me was Pride Prom, hosted on April 2, by the GSCC. This visibility is important at MSU because it shows incoming and existing queer students that there is a community of accepting people on this campus, even when it feels like you’re the only one. Pride Month is a time to tell the world: “We are queer we are here deal with it!” It’s to show society we’re not happy with getting kicked around. We say we’re “proud” because we’ve grown up in environments that made us feel ashamed of who we are. We say “gay pride” not because it sounds cool. History isn’t the only reason we celebrate though. It’s normally in June, the same month when the Stonewall Riots started (1969), when homosexual intercourse was legalized (2003) and when gay marriage became law of the land (2015). So where does Pride Month fit in? The month is for several things. We also have a student-only Discord server, an online community for connecting. In addition to activism, PRISM hosts weekly meetings that range from game nights to current event discussions. I joined PRISM, the South Neighborhood’s LGBTQA+ Caucus, because it was in shambles after the pandemic, and I wanted to make sure there was still something for the classes after me. I came here not knowing any queer people my only sense of community was the internet. Ryan’s window has two pink triangles referencing gay victims of the Holocaust and the AIDS Crisis followed by the text “Never Again, Never Forget,” a reference to gay rights activist Leonard Matlovich. Some groups like Transcend (trans caucus) and neighborhood caucuses provide opportunities for activism. They let queer students connect and discuss their experiences and troubles of being queer while learning and growing as individuals. Queer spaces like the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, or GSCC, offer a space where students can go without fear. Many of these students have unaccepting parents, histories of bullying, or lifetimes of hiding in the closet. I believe queer student orgs and services at MSU provide essential services. We often struggle with internalized prejudice when we discover ourselves. We can be born into any culture, color, or creed, and many of us are raised in environments hostile to who we are. We’re unique in the sense that most other marginalized groups are raised by members of the same group however, most homosexuals are raised by heterosexuals, most transgender people are raised by cisgender (nontransgender) people, and so on. (Queer is a reclaimed adjective that broadly describes people who aren’t heterosexual or cisgender.
He is the Residence Halls Association representative for People Respecting the Individuality of Students at MSU, or PRISM, and the chairperson of the Committee on Internal Affairs at RHA.Īpril is MSU’s Pride Month, but I can’t mention the importance of Pride Month and queer orgs without first mentioning the difficulties faced by queer college students. Ryan Peters (he/him) is a sophomore at Michigan State University majoring in linguistics with a minor in agribusiness management.