University of Michigan students played games and enjoyed snow cones at a sunny Ingalls Mall Sunday afternoon. The crowd gathered amid tables and a stage for the Spectrum Center’s annual Pride Outside welcome event, hosted in collaboration with the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the College of Engineering, the Center for the Education of Women +, oSTEM and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
LSA senior Allyson May, a student organizer on the Spectrum Center’s planning committee, said Pride Outside aimed to welcome LGBTQ+ students and introduce them to Queer-specific clubs and resources.
“Pride Outside is to welcome students, specifically Queer students, to campus,” May said. “A lot of times, students come from communities that may not be the most welcoming, and this is kind of a way to showcase that at Michigan we do welcome Queer students. We also have a resource fair that has a ton of different offices and student organizations that are ready to welcome Queer students.”
LSA junior Macie Richardson, Spectrum Center Support Services and Wellness Student lead, said the event’s timing is key to its impact because it fosters a Queer community just as the academic year begins.
“I love Pride Month, but it happens in June when no one’s here, so it’s really special that we’re putting something on when students are back on campus,” Richardson said. “I hope new students can find a sense of community and people leave feeling like they’re a part of something and that they have a support system around them.”
In addition to tables promoting various clubs and resources, the event also included a stage where members of musical organizations including “Not Even Really Drama Students,” “Groove” and “Arts Chorale” performed.
LSA junior Kenneth Gu, a member of the Spectrum Center’s planning committee, spoke about the planning process for Pride Outside.
“We started planning with the Spectrum Center early into the summer, reaching out to our student (organizations) for performances (and) for tabling as well,” Gu said. “We worked at the Spectrum Center to plan the setup of the event. We also did a bit of fundraising with the (School of Music, Theatre & Dance).”
The event concluded with a drag show that featured five performers singing songs including “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan and “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John. May said the drag show was a highlight of Pride Outside for her, and that she felt it brought the attendees together over familiar songs.
“We always end with a drag show,” May said. “The past few years, we’ve had Zooey Gaychanel come and it’s always such a great closing event because everybody moves away from the tables, gets under the tent and everybody’s singing along to the songs because they’re usually Queer anthems that everybody knows. I think it was a really great feeling of community to all be together and all know the words and get to cheer.”
LSA junior Elladiss Fuge attended the event and described the drag show as a great experience that showcased the importance of events like Pride Outside.
“For a lot of people, this is their first exposure to drag in general, at this event,” Fuge said. “It’s really critical that it’s able to be done in this kind of space because then there’s room for growth and being able to come from a place of understanding rather than a lot of close-mindedness that can come from other spaces.”
LSA sophomore Khanysha Odum, an attendee of Pride Outside, said she believes the event was a great way for everyone on campus to feel represented and learn more about each other.
“I’m hoping that people can find new friends and new connections out here and also just enjoy themselves because the semester gets very, very hard,” Odum said. “It’s very important that there’s representation for each part of people’s identity, not just who you are as a student, but who you are as a person. It’s important to have these events also for exposure, so people all over can be supportive, educated and be an ally.”
Daily Staff Reporter Audrey Shabelski can be reached at audres@umich.edu.
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