Community Celebrates LGBTQIA+ History Month on Campus

By ARYAN AGARWAL, WILLIAM INNOUE, ANGELA HE, AUDREY KIM, KAROLINA KOZAK, and GRACE YANG

Annually, the onset of October brings LGBTQIA+ History Month, a tradition started in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a high school teacher in Missouri. The month brings together members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities nationwide to celebrate these groups. Its celebration has great importance here on Exeter’s campus, with organizations like OMA and GSA collaborating to create an inclusive environment for the campus community. Several events were scheduled throughout October to spread awareness about LGBT history and the strength of those Exonians who shared their voices. People from every corner of campus worked incredibly hard to make the month as great as it was and gave The Exonian some insight into how they made it happen.

This year, October was centered around two main events: Drag Queen Bingo and an LBGTQIA+ Student Athlete Panel. Both events invited students to learn and express views about the queer community. The events were designed to be fun, engaging, and interactive, so that conversations around difficult topics were designed to be relaxed and easy to approach. 

Cohead of GSA and senior Chloe Richards said that “these celebrations are a great way to bring people together. They don’t just create a safe space to celebrate LGBTQ+ kids on campus but they’re a great way to unite the entire community. They can be educational, eye-opening, and most importantly fun!” 

She continued, “I find it super important to have fun activities and not just make GSA about the educational or historical side. I also think it’s equally important for the rest of the Exeter community to have opportunities for celebration and to become more familiar with GSA on campus to make it a more fluid space.”

Director of Student Activities Joanne G. Lembo said, “I think history is important to me because it shows the progress we have made in the past 30 years. When it seems like we haven’t made enough progress, I am able to look back and say: you know what? Most schools 35 years ago did not have a GSA on campus. If a teacher came out in support of a queer student, they could lose their job. While that’s still true in many states in this country, we’ve made some progress.”

“It’s so rewarding to be able to sit down 10 years later and see former students thriving,” continued Lembo. “They’re thriving, because at Exeter, we provide the support for these students.” 

Upper Morgan Signore, who is both a cohead of GSA and on the girls’ varsity soccer team, added, “For student athletes, I thought this message allows us to have a support group around queer people, allowing everyone to feel welcomed here. Personally, I have never felt uncomfortable about who I am, but I know not everyone has felt that way, and I hope these events allow people to feel more comfortable about themselves.”

The Drag Queen Bingo, Lembo said, was a way to combine a fun event with an important message. “I think the difference with history celebration and drag, is that drag is an important art form in the queer community. I think that by bringing a drag queen to campus or drag kings, for that matter, it showcases another type of queer expression, and I think that one of the things that’s really important is to recognize that there’s not one queer identity.”

Signore added, “Drag Queen Bingo is always so much fun! This year we collaborated with Asian Voices to host a discussion regarding queerness and cultural intersectionality before going to the event together! It was a great way to use an exciting activity to engage a lot of people across communities.” Overall, the Drag Queen Bingo allowed people to both learn about queer identity and have fun playing Bingo at the same time. 

The Student-Athlete Panel enabled people to ask questions regarding many subjects related to LGBTQIA+ and athletics. Many people attended this panel, including captains from fall sports, coaches, and players on different sports teams. 

Lembo provided insight about the preparation of this panel, as well as the thoughts that went into it.  “It was a really good team. Everything I do here, I do as part of a team, and I work collectively with others, because events are gonna turn out better when there are lots more people involved in them, but I also think that it’s important to have representation.”

Richards highlighted the significance of including alumni voices in the panel, stating, “We wanted to have members on the panel of student-athletes who either came out after they graduated Exeter or who were out while they were in school here. It was awesome to hear from individuals who know the school as well as the culture of teams and identity-based groups on campus. Hearing from alums was an awesome way to bring it outside of just the Exeter community; kids could hear from people they don’t know but might share an aspect (or multiple) of their identity with.”

Lembo continued with the specifics, “Ms. Haskins, Ms. McBride, and also, in the beginning, Ms. Breen collaborated with ideas on how to get this done. We figured out who would be good people to be on the panel. I reached out to Hunter Myers and Joe Platt, both alums, and they immediately said, ‘I would love to come back.’ And then Mrs. McBrearty’s wife, Kendall McBrearty, was also a division one lacrosse player at UVA. So she said she’d be part of it as well.”

Richards commented on the significance of this panel, and the role it plays in the busy lives of Exonians. “The panel was a great experience! It was another way we could bridge more communities on campus, so having athletes on campus who might not usually find the opportunity or courage to engage with GSA in a shared space was really cool.”

Signore hopes that this Panel can help others around her get inspired to help others. “When I was on the soccer team a few years back, our captain was queer, and she was someone I looked up to and who I could imagine being someday. I hope that I have been able to fill that role, and others will join me to make sports an inclusive space for all.” 

Lembo emphasized the importance of equipping team captains with both understanding and tools to support queer athletes on campus. “My hope for the takeaways,” Lembo said, “is that the team captains have a better understanding of what a lived experience of a queer athlete is.” Lembo aimed not only to foster empathy among teammates but also to empower captains. “I also hope that if there were any closeted gay athletes in that space, they know they are supported in time, they will be able to live their authentic selves and not only live but thrive.”

The LGBTQIA+ history month at Exeter concluded with a powerful impact on the school community, leaving students and faculty with a deeper appreciation for inclusivity. With support from GSA, OMA, and alumni, events like Drag Queen Bingo and the Student-Athlete Panel celebrated diversity and helped Exonians gain insight into the experiences of queer identities. Reflecting on the month’s impact, Richards concluded, “It’s always important to spread awareness to continue the notion of education as well as creating a safe space for LGBTQ+ kids to learn and be celebrated.”