Southern Virginia University’s Pride Club: “I Like My Blue Ridge Colorful”
By Chloe Cochran
Oct. 11 marked National Coming Out Day for the LGBTQIA+ community. In celebration, Southern Virginia University’s Pride Club hosted a tie-dye event for the entire student body and faculty the week of Oct. 4. Friends, family and more dyed their own shirts provided by Pride Club with the phrase “I Like My Blue Ridge Colorful.” Participants then wore their new shirts on Monday, Oct. 11 to show support for members of the LGBTQIA+ community as they celebrated ‘coming out’ to the world and embracing themselves.
President of the pride club, Jonathan Dye (‘22) stated that the Pride Club offers support to individuals so that they feel just as empowered and loved as their straight, cisgendered peers. In doing this, club participation is completely confidential and safe for all visitors and members.
“[We] are a tight-knit group of people who are unified and strengthened by our similar experiences regarding identity and love, and support and uplift each other in our personal searches for both,” Dye explains.
The Pride club began with the goal to “unify and strengthen [individuals with] a similar experience regarding identity and love. With support and the uplifting of one another,” quoted from their website. Anyone can be a part of the LGBTQIA+ club, and everyone is welcome to join; as long as they abide by the club rules.
The love and support facilitated by the Pride club the week of Oct. 4 culminated on the following Monday for National Coming Out day.
“Coming out, or revealing one’s sexual/gender orientation, is an incredibly difficult and (unfortunately) often dangerous thing to do. Coming out runs the risk of losing friends, enduring harassment, or even being ostracized by loved ones, among other things. However, we want to remind people that even before you come out, you have a family and support group who are rooting for you. Even if you lose loved ones by coming out, you will gain more support than you could imagine. By wearing tie-dye to school on Monday, we displayed our support,” says Dye.
For more information, feel free to contact Jonathan Dye at jonathankdye@gmail.com or at (707) 514-5797
