Keene State’s campus became a little bit more colorful on Saturday as KSC Pride hosted its “backyard bash”-themed pride parade on April 20.
This year’s event saw some returning traditions with WKNH providing music and attendees given the chance to tie-dye shirts, but also some new ones, such as the Keene High School (KHS) pride club hosting a table.
Blue Bush, a KHS pride member, explained the club’s reasoning for participating in the event.
“It gives more representation in our community and I think that’s important,” Bush said.
KSC Pride Treasurer and junior Jarod Wong spoke about the inclusion of KHS Pride this year.
“For a pride parade around campus, it’s great to have the high school go hand-in-hand with that, especially for a lot of young high school kids seeing college students, adults, be okay with themselves we think is very inspiring to younger people,” Wong said.
KSC Pride Vice President and junior Levi LeBoeuf spoke to the event’s festivities.
“We have pizza, snow cones, and we have face painting for [attendees] to come and enjoy and we have the parade set to march around campus around 2 [p.m.], then we get back and continue on the festivities,” LeBoeuf said.
The event, hosted on the L.P. Young Student Center lawn, also offered attendees a chance to dunk KSC Pride members in a dunk tank.
Wong explained the importance of the organization continuing the annual parade tradition.
“KSC Pride has always been about queer solidarity and we’ve always wanted to create a safe space on campus and pride parade really demonstrates that Keene strives to be a safe and inclusive campus and community,” they said.
Wong said planning for the event began at the start of the semester, but the club kicked the process into high gear a month beforehand.
Additionally, Wong said the club chooses to hold the parade toward the end of the semester as a de-stressor for students.
“Of course, we love warmer weather, which just naturally happens at the end of the semester,” Wong said.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
