It’s Pride Month and SPECTRUM has several fun activities planned for you! SPECTRUM is a student alliance at South and our club’s mission is to foster unity and empower individuals in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. 

     Get ready to embark on a cinematic journey of inclusion and diversity as SPECTRUM presents an unforgettable movie night experience that promises to entertain, educate, and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. SPECTRUM is gearing up to create an atmosphere of acceptance and celebration with a diverse range of activities. Ranging from PRIDE decorations to the Day of Silence to a movie night, and a delectable bake sale, SPECTRUM has something in store for everyone. SPECTRUM, through its dynamic initiatives, endeavors to foster understanding, facilitate dialogue, and propagate a sense of joy within the campus community. We invite you to embrace diversity, unite in solidarity, and relish delightful treats while partaking in the captivating array of events organized by SPECTRUM.

     You might wonder about the history of Pride Month. According to Britannica, Pride Month is held in June to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. The uprising started at a bar in Greenwich Village, NYC, where local police had targeted the establishment for its LGBTQ+ clientele. They raided the bar and arrested patrons, using excessive force and demeaning insults.

     The LGBTQ+ community retaliated with riots that continued for the next week and spread into nearby Christopher Park. Led by Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Storme DeLarverie, and other queer people of color, the uprising marked a turning point in the gay rights movement. It also inspired a wave of new LGBTQ+ organizations, newspapers, demonstrations, and even the first Pride parade. The Stonewall Inn is now a national historic landmark and continues to serve as a gathering place for the queer community. Today, the LGBTQ+ community and allies designate June as a special month to celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall and honor previous activists’ work for equal justice and opportunities. There’s so much you can do to celebrate Pride Month this year and make our school a more safe and inclusive space for all students. Pride Week at South starts on June 5th.

     On June 2, SPECTRUM will “rainbow-ify” the school, and with the help of invited students from Thomas Grover Middle School. All South students are welcome to lend a hand as we hang up PRIDE flags, streamers, posters, and much more to help transform the school into a pride-filled community. 

      At the beginning of Pride Week, SPECTRUM will have a table set up at the school’s entrance in the morning to pass out free pronoun pins, stickers, and other pride swag so you can show your allyship. We’ll also sell snacks, pizza, and donuts at the bake sale after school June 5-8. 

     Daniel Liang, a junior and the vice president of SPECTRUM said, “We’re so excited to bring to you fun and exciting activities for Pride Week! We’ve spent weeks setting up the logistics as well as organizing a bake sale, a movie night and so much more. This year we hope to have participation all across South and make the decorations even more spectacular than before.” 

     Aaheli Rathi, a senior and the treasurer/secretary of SPECTRUM said, “This year, we’re able to bring more to our Pride Week that we missed out on in the last few years due to COVID restrictions. We are finally able to have a movie night, welcome to all, along with our Breaking the Silence social, which is when participants break their silence on the Day of Silence. Pride Month is such an important time of the year, because we pay tribute to those at Stonewall who refused to back down. Those at the Stonewall Riots changed everything for future generations and fought for the liberties that we get to have today.”

     On June 6, SPECTRUM will be organizing a Day of Silence, an annual day of action to spread awareness about harassment and bullying of LGBTQ+ students. All are welcome to join us! After school, we will host a “Breaking the Silence” social. 

     Lastly, on June 16 we’ll be hosting a movie night in the media center from 3-5pm. We’ll be showing “The Half of It,” a classic coming-of-age queer rom-com. During June, we’ll also have pride-themed books and presentations on display in the media center. Feel free to participate in any and all of our programming this June. Your support is greatly appreciated!

    SPECTRUM holds meetings every other Tuesday from 3-4pm in room 505. All are welcome to attend. Our meetings include planning events to making crafts to guided discussions. This past year, we’ve presented about allyship to WW-P elementary classes, organized Ally Week and No-Name Calling Week, attended state GSA forums, hosted movie nights, and more!