On Friday April 29th on JOA quad, clubs and departments from across campus came together in celebration of LGBTQ+ Visibility Day. Presented by the True Equality and Dignity Alliance, Visibility Day is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community across campus and a chance for the wider campus community to acknowledge and appreciate its members who identify as LGBTQ+.

Upbeat pop music with queer themes by mostly queer artists, played across the quad on the windy Friday afternoon. Rainbow banners hung from trees and tables were set up in a circle around the outside of the quad. Clubs and departments from across campus were represented by each table, including organizations from Geisel Library to the Abbey Players to the philosophy and gender studies departments. 

Meg Query, core council liaison for TEDA, described the event as featuring, “some groups from all over campus, all different departments,” noting that “It’s not always groups that you see all in the same place, so it’s just a lot of like joy and a lot of just support for each other in the community.” She added, “I think it’s really great support that you don’t see in other events as much.

”The Lucubrations table and TEDA table handed out pride flags, pronoun pins, and pride ribbon pins. The philosophy department’s table featured a selection of texts by openly queer thinkers throughout history. Several tables (including Geisel Library’s) displayed collections of books and other works by queer writers and creators. Other departments’ tables, such as the gender studies department, displayed posters with information highlighting the contributions of LGBTQ+ thinkers to society. 

As core council liaison, Query’s job is to relay information from the TEDA eboard to the core council and vice versa. When asked what her favorite part of the event was, Query said, “I just love seeing all of the people come out to visibility day and be so supportive of a community that isn’t always super represented outwardly on this campus. There are a lot of people that I know personally that identify with the LGBT plus community that may not be out on campus but are able to see the kind of support that Visibility Day brings out for everyone. It’s really a time to sort of connect with people that maybe you don’t always have those conversations with, and people that you may not interact with otherwise.” 

Not only is Visibility Day an excellent opportunity for LGBTQ+ people to connect with others in the community and for allies to show their support for the queer community, it offers various academic departments the chance to highlight the significance of the LGBTQ+ community’s contributions to various fields of study. At a school that prides itself on the quality of the liberal arts education it offers, this is critical. As stated in the Visibility Day social media announcement, the ultimate goal is to “honor the Benedictine values of hospitality, love, and respect for the dignity of each human person!”