Live a Commitment to Inclusive Excellence During Pride Month

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and I thank our amazing Student Life leaders for filling the calendar with virtual events that celebrate, honor, affirm and inform—all accessible through our Virtual Student Union. You can access the Pride Month Module by logging into the VSU site.

Pride Month was first proclaimed in 2000 by President Clinton and later expanded by President Obama in 2011. June was selected because of its connection to the Stonewall Uprising, which began June 28, 1969. Stonewall has been considered by some to be the start of a shift in LGBTQ+ activism: in fact, the first Pride March was held a year later, in 1970, on the anniversary of the uprising.

More than 50 years later, members of LGBTQ+ communities are still fighting to be seen, heard, respected, safe and included. The Human Rights Campaign recently reported on an FBI study showing an increase in violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, and recent research suggests that members of LGBTQ+ communities have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2019 report by the Trevor Project also identified higher rates of mental health challenges experienced by LGBTQ+ youth. A half century after Stonewall, there is much work to do.

This Pride Month, we should recognize and celebrate the many achievements and accomplishments of members of LGBTQ+ communities … and reflect on how we can live our commitment to inclusive excellence in ways that make our LGBTQ+ students and colleagues feel welcome and supported at NOVA.

Come as you are. Become who you want to be. That is our promise.