Students Display Love and Acceptance at Rainbow Day
By Dayna Miller
Friends, supporters, and allies of the LGBTQ society came together Wednesday, Oct. 14 for “Rainbow Day” to celebrate the queer community on campus. Participating individuals wore tie-dye shirts which were hand-dyed by students at the Student Life House last week.
“This is a really big deal. It’s going to be a major step for the community to see that Southern Virginia is an inclusive place where everyone is welcome,” says Grace De Gruccio (‘21), the LGBTQIA+ and Allies society president.
Officially created in 2015, the LGBTQIA+ and Allies Society is a community organization that brings together queer, questioning, and supporting people, welcome to both Southern Virginia students and others living in the Buena Vista and Lexington areas. De Gruccio says the society is “a space for people to really feel safe and welcome. Our goal is to facilitate discussions about the queer community and provide comradery and love.”
“SVU Rainbow Day” was created by De Gruccio and Vice-President Jonathan Dye (’22) to help students feel included, acknowledged, and loved. De Gruccio says she noticed that Brigham Young University has done this type of event for a couple of years and she wanted to implement it on the Southern Virginia campus as well.
“The plan was you come to school and see all these people wearing tie-dye and you think, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that this many people stood up for these issues.’ And for someone who doesn’t feel like they are loved or accepted as who they are, to see a group of people come together and unite in a way like that is really powerful,” said Dye.
The society meetings are focused on discussing social issues that are faced by the LGBTQ community, like depression, harassment, and discrimination.
Being on a campus predominantly filled with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the society also frequently discusses faith.
“A lot of what we do has to do with reconciliation between religion and sexual orientation and finding something that works for you and makes you happy,” says Dye.
“We also support each other, we love each other, and we partner with different projects like Project Horizon, an organization based out of Lexington that does a lot for social and domestic issues like domestic abuse victims.”
De Gruccio and Dye made it clear that Rainbow Day was for anyone who wanted to participate, LGBTQ or not. De Gruccio says, “This is reflective of the club, that we are completely welcome to all people. It doesn’t matter if you’re questioning, if you are just an ally, or if you know you are a part of the community. All that is required is that you are kind, and that’s been my top policy from the beginning.”
Meetings are via zoom every other Sunday at 8 p.m. and are held 100 percent confidential.
