Lawrenceville’s GSA Leads Month-Long LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration

Lawrenceville’s student-led Gender and Sexuality Alliance extended the School’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration from a week to a month this year in April. The expanded, community-wide festivities included cooking, crafts, music, and theater. There were also panel discussions where alumni and faculty shared their personal stories of being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

At an all-School meeting, a panel of Lawrenceville alumni (Dalila Haden ‘15, Marcus Mabry ‘85, and Kylan Tatum ’21) were asked by students about a number of topics, including which School opportunities they would take advantage of today, how being part of the LGBTQ+ community plays a role in their adult life, and their advice to current LGBTQ+ students. Each of the panelists encouraged the audience to use Lawrenceville’s resources - including programs, extracurricular activities, guidance from adults, peers, and alumni - for support. Mabry, who leads the Student Affairs committee of the School’s Board of Trustees, asked students to reach out to any adult, at any time, if they felt uncomfortable on campus. “We’ve got your back,” he said.

Lawrentians also participated in the GLSEN Day of Silence, where LGBTQ+ students and allies take a vow of silence to protest the harassment and discrimination faced in schools. Additionally, students, faculty, and staff gathered to raise the Pride flag alongside the U.S. flag on the School's flagpole for the fifth consecutive year.

Other events included a cookie decorating event and discussion of the history of queer artists and theater in the School’s new Ross Room. Members of Lawrenceville’s faculty participated in a panel about their experiences with being part of the LGTBQ+ community. Students also held a crafting event, inviting community members to make Pride bracelets and write letters to congresspeople. 

A group of students also was invited to attend the annual Choate Spectrum conference, an interschool conference on gender and sexuality topics.

To culminate this year’s Pride celebration, members of the Lawrenceville community will march in the New Hope (PA) Celebrates Pride Parade in May for the third year in a row.

“Pride Month is important because it gives our entire community the opportunity to stand together in solidarity. It is also a great way to show that everyone belongs at Lawrenceville. In a world where LGBTQIA+ youth still face discrimination, visibility and affirmation matter deeply,” said GSA faculty advisor Brian Jacobs, who chairs the School’s Language Department.  

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.