By Theodore Geigle
The Scene staff
St. Louis Community College students and staff participated in this year’s St. Louis PrideFest by manning a booth and marching in the parade.
“We’re here to support LGBTQ people first and foremost,” said D’Andre Braddix, the college’s executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion, who came on board last year.
Staff members included Rachel Lucarz, disability services coordinator in the Access Office on the Florissant Valley campus.
“I am both a staff member and member of the LGBTQ (community), so I want to show my love for both and be a face for students,” she said. “I also think it’s important to show that STLCC values pride as well.”
The outdoor festival took place Saturday and Sunday, June 24-25, in downtown St. Louis.
Visitors to the college’s booth could get free bottled water and play LGBTQ and STLCC trivia for prizes such as T-shirts and rainbow-colored sunglasses and wristbands.
They also signed posters with encouraging messages.
“We plan to put two on every campus show support to our LGBTQ students,” Braddix said.
STLCC representatives who marched in the parade threw out Smarties candy to people on the sidelines.
“I wanted to do Dum-Dums (suckers), but we’re a college, so that would be ill-fitting,” Braddix said. “We went with Smarties instead, even though I don’t care for them.”
General transfer studies student Lydia Sheehan, 20, was part of the STLCC group.
“(I’m here) because I am the president of the Pride Alliance at Meramec, so I’m helping them out,” she said. “This is my first PrideFest, so I’m happy to help and participate.”
Sheehan was planning to stick around to see Idina Menzel, a Broadway singer and actress best known for her roles in “Wicked” and “Frozen.” Her concert ended PrideFest on Sunday.
Sheehan called the atmosphere “very refreshing.”
“I think students want to see that the college is on their side and is supportive and progressive,” she said. “It’s really important to know your school has your back.”
Lucarz’s favorite part of the festival was manning the booth and visiting with former and current students who seemed happy to see people from their alma mater.
“We are the community college,” she said. “We are a space for people who may not have thought higher education was an option for them.
“So, we know LGBTQ students have had lower higher-education graduation rates.
We’re showing support for them, so they know it’s a safe space for them and the community.”
The college plans to support the LGBTQ community in ways that go beyond participating in PrideFest, according to Braddix.
“We’re looking critically at the curriculum and seeing how we can change certain aspects to be more inclusive,” he said.
“We will also start offering lessons about trans people and trans spectrum panels. We’re hoping to cast a wide net with a 45-minute-long panel about trans people, and if people are interested, they would be able to take our Trans 101 training course.”
The college also is thinking about selling STLCC pride merchandise at bookstores and donating profits to LGBTQ charities.
A website called Campus Pride Index rates campuses by their level of inclusivity. Braddix wants to raise STLCC’s rating.
“We’re working with them on improvements we can make like preferred names and an inclusive-space website for students,” he said. “We’ll also have STLCC resource booths for faculty to help our LGBTQ staff.
“This is a community, and we are a community college. We want to be inclusive and expand resources, not just for LGBTQ members, but also for black and brown students and students with disabilities. (This) is very important. It is absolutely critical that we are being visible and inclusive.”