Despite chilly temperatures on Sunday afternoon, seven students tackled the weather during the Fruitbowl - an annual football game sponsored by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - at Walter Adams Memorial field.
“We were hoping for a better turnout, but only the hard-core LGBT community is out here today,” public policy junior Chris Szmadzinski said jokingly during halftime.
Sunday’s football game was one of the kick-off events for Pride Week at MSU, which lasts through Friday. Events during the week celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBT community members.
And that’s not something that happens every day, said Carrie Copeland, a co-director for the Alliance of Lesbian-Bi-Gay and Transgendered Students.
“For once, we get a week that’s about us, by us and for us,” she said.
Brent Bilodeau, MSU’s assistant for LGBT concerns, said Pride Week plays an essential role at MSU.
“The word ‘pride’ is so important for LGBT people to claim,” he said. “I say that because in the United States, we are treated as something less and we are hated for who we are. The word ‘pride’ communicates a message that we are valued, we are important and we can succeed. It is a community and campus declaration of self-esteem.”
High-profile speakers, a vigil against hate crimes, a march against intolerance and a day of silence highlight some of the Pride Week festivities.
Judy Shepard, the mother of a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death more than two years ago, will speak at 7 p.m. today in the Wharton Center’s Great Hall. Her son, Matthew Shepard, died in October 1998 after being severely beaten and left to die tied to a fence near Laramie, Wyo.
The incident has been perceived as one of the most notorious hate crimes in recent history.
On Tuesday, members and allies of the LGBT community will participate in “Blue Jean Day,” using the piece of clothing as a sign of support for LGBT rights.
Matt Weingarden, a member of the Alliance, said event coordinators had specific reasons for making denim the symbol of the day.
“Blue jeans are worn by the majority of students every day,” the biology junior said. “We wanted to choose something so common that people will say to themselves ‘Am I going to choose to wear jeans and be identified with the LGBT community, or consciously put on another pair of pants so I won’t be a part of that?’”
Each of the coming week’s events will help shed light on issues affecting the LGBT community, Bilodeau said.
“I think social forces render LGBT people’s lives and experiences invisible,” he said. “Pride Week is a call to visibility and awareness.”
Everyone is welcome to join in the Pride Week celebration, Copeland said.
“We have events that will appeal to people who don’t know that much about LGBT issues as well as events that would appeal to someone who has been active in the community for decades,” she said.
