Waubonsee celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month with special events in October

Waubonsee Community College invites students, faculty, staff, and members of the community to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. LGBTQ+ is a month-long recognition observed from Oct. 1-31 that raises awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history and related civil rights movements. This programming is free and open to the public.

• Pride flag raising ceremony: Join them at the Dickson Center flag pole located at the Sugar Grove Campus as they raise the Pride flag at noon Tuesday, Oct. 4. The flag raising symbolizes the progress that has been made across the LGBTQ+ community.

• Pridepalooza: Waubonsee will host its biggest pride celebration ever! Pridepalooza kicks off with an interactive workshop at 11 a.m. where attendees will learn about the importance of allyship from guest speaker, Dr. Gavin Wesier, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University. Following the lecture, attendees will receive resources and enjoy food, fun, music, giveaways, and so much more. This event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11 at the Sugar Grove Campus in the Student Center Café.

• LGBTQ+ History Month Exhibit: Immerse yourself into the history of the AIDS epidemic by viewing art pieces that depict the deep and ongoing influence the AIDS crisis had and continues to have on LGBTQ+ and American culture. The exhibit will be on display at the Todd Library located at the Sugar Grove Campus and the Downtown Aurora Campus Library from Oct. 3-31.

• LGBTQ+ History Month Flag Display: Where did the rainbow flag come from and what do all the variations of LGBTQ+ flags mean? Learn of the Pride flag's history by visiting the LGBTQ+ flag display table. The flag display table will be available on a rotating schedule at each of Waubonsee's four campuses from Oct. 3-31.

Visit calendar.waubonsee.edu/LGBTQ for more information about these events.