Network News

Hi everyone!

Greetings from the Carolina Pride Alum Network. I write this knowing that many of us are exhausted, scared, and frustrated. We’re worried about our families, our rights, our futures. Know that all of those feelings are absolutely valid, and in this community of 1300 LGBTQ+ Tar Heels, many folks are feeling exactly the same. Never forget that you have a family of queer folks who deeply care about you all around the world.

In the midst of uncertainty, I do want to acknowledge a few amazing moments from our community from the last few months:

• UNC-CH QTPOC, a coalition of queer and/or trans students of color working to build a strong network among QTPOC students on campus, launched a mutual aid fund and have raised hundreds of dollars to date.
• The LGBTQ+ Center came together for a virtual Lavender graduation back in May to honor the recent graduating LGBTQ+ students. We are so proud to welcome all of you into our alumni network.
• Current LGBTQ+ students hosted Queer MiniCon, a series of presentations to honor and celebrate National Coming Out Day.
• Gage Tarlton (’20) partnered with director, activist, and actress Sis and writer Antonio Lasanta to put on “Our Offering” a virtual play “about and for Black and brown folks, transgender folks, gender nonconforming folks, anyone who claims all of those or any of those or two of those, that’s who we were writing this for…Those are the voices who have been unfortunately marginalized in the current American theater, so we wrote this play as a form of protest almost.” [daily tar heel]

While the above are just a couple of snippets of the joy our community built, there’s a whole lot more. We’re planning on virtually coming together this spring and hope you’ll join us in celebration and solidarity. And as always, thank you. Thank you for showing up, for holding us accountable, for teaching, and of course for continuing to grow together.

Onward,

Mackenzie