This month, the UNH community will be celebrating Gaypril: Campus Pride month, with a variety of events hosted by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and other organizations on campus occurring nearly every day.
Organizations involved in the month-long celebration in addition to OMSA are the President’s Commission for the Status of LGBTQ+ People, UNH Women’s Studies program, UNH Alliance, Trans UNH, Memorial Union Student Organization (MUSO), Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP) and several others.
Some of the month’s most anticipated events include SHARPP’s seventh annual Anti-Violence Rally and Walk on Thursday, April 13, MUSO’s third annual “Bratfest” music and arts festival happening this Friday, April 7, and Yule Ball/Drag Ball, also happening this Friday at 8 p.m. in the Granite State Room.
“I’m most excited for the upcoming drag ball event that Alliance is hosting,” sociology and justice studies dual major and secretary of Alliance, Evan Smith said. “It is our big event of the year and we’ll have drag performers and a drag/costume contest”.
The drag ball, that is Harry Potter themed, will serve butterbeer and themed food. In the advertisement for the event, Alliance encourages students to “Bring who you want and dress how you want.”
One of OMSA’s biggest events of the year will be the 25th annual LGBTQ+ Ally Pancake Breakfast, happening on Tuesday, April 18 at 8 a.m. in the Granite State Room. This year, the event will focus on “Intersectionality and Cultural Humility: Concepts from ‘Between the World and Me’” and feature keynote speaker Professor Gary Bailey of the Social Work in the Urban Leadership Program at Simmons College. Bailey will also be giving a lecture later that day entitled “There Are No Outcasts: Reconciliation and Acceptance.”
UNH’s Women’s Studies program will be tabling in the MUB Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout April from 1-3 p.m. for a campaign called “Do the Work,” where program representatives will encourage students, faculty and staff to contact their elected officials concerning their views on issues that affect them.
According to the event description on Facebook, “Pride is about celebration…and also working to improve our society now and for future generations.” Also recurring throughout the month will be a month-long book club entitled “Every Queer’s Reading List,” in which participants will be reading “Stone Butch Blues” by Leslie Feinberg. Those interested can contact Mark Anthony ([email protected]) for more details.
Other events throughout the month will raise awareness, encourage activism and facilitate discussion around LGBTQ+ topics and issues through poetry open mic nights, film screenings, lectures and more.
A full schedule with event descriptions can be found on OMSA’s Facebook event page Gaypril: Campus Pride Month 2017.
