By Carley Crain
@carley_crain12
Rainbow flags flying around, honks from cars driving by, colorful posters, smiles of pride, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, allies, and pure joy kicked off the Gender and Sexuality Alliance’s (GSA) annual Rainbow Fest week at Springfield College on Monday afternoon during the Pride Parade. The week of celebrations always starts off with the parade and the raising of the progressive pride flag, as the event encompasses the main mission of Rainbow Fest: queer joy.
“I think it is so important for people to remember, yes, pride is a protest and we should be fighting,” said GSA president Wyatt de Friesse. “However, there is also an aspect of people just wanting to live and be themselves without fear of being hate crimed or killed.”
GSA has a full list of events planned for the week, all meant to highlight the LGBTQIA+ community on campus. On Tuesday, the second day of Rainbow Fest, students visited the resource fair, which provided the campus with information on numerous programs, clubs, and organizations that support the LGBTQIA+ community. For GSA, this was important to include in the week of Rainbow Fest because, for many queer individuals, this support is crucial for their overall well-being.
That night, the DEI office hosted an LGBTQIA+ trivia night, which was a fun, uplifting event for those who wanted to test their queer knowledge.
Wednesday was arguably one of the bigger events of the week: drag bingo. Bingo is always a largely-attended event on the Springfield College campus, but drag bingo specifically is extra special for students. This year students enjoyed and cheered on Zelda Vox, the queen who performed during Wednesday night’s bingo.
At a time when drag is being banned across the nation, this year’s bingo was very important. Students felt and fully embraced the queer joy that was evident during the show. For queer students at Springfield College, drag bingo isn’t just entertaining. It is a reminder of how important representation is.
“Springfield College loves their bingo, but it also represents LGBTQ+ pride,” said de Friesse. “Especially nowadays with all the bans on drag happening, it is nice to have that sort of representation.”
Thursday is a historic day for Rainbow Fest. The college is welcoming transgender poet, Stephanie Burt, to campus. Burt is a well-established writer who has been referred to by The New York Times as “One of the most influential poetry critics of her generation.”
On Friday, Trans Day of Visibility will take place at 2:30 p.m. in Marsh. Every year, this day is celebrated on March 31 to honor transgender and non-binary individuals, as well as to raise awareness about the discrimination transgender people face.
Additionally, The DEI office is hosting a Salsa/Bachata Night with Rosby at 6 p.m. that evening.
The last day of Rainbow Fest concludes with an evening of reflection behind Alumni Hall at 4 p.m. Students can expect a bonfire, smores and reflective discussions.
Photo:Flickr