Pride Week at Stevens

Pride Week is a Stevens tradition, stretching from Saturday, April 2 to Friday, April 8. Liliana Delman, Director of Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion explained, “Pride Week is an annual campus tradition celebrating the LGBTQ+ community [… ] A collaboration between Torch Alliance, oSTEM, the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, the Athletics Department and the Office of DEI, Pride Week is an opportunity to celebrate Pride during the school year when everyone is on campus, since the official Pride Month is in June.” 

A major event of Pride Week is Pride After Dark. In an email to The Stute, Connor Mills and Madison McIntosh, students who organized Pride After Dark, offered some insight into the event. Mills summarized, “Pride After Dark is an event that celebrates queer culture and one that offers a space for queer students to enjoy that culture, have fun, and feel safe in their queerness as they see it celebrated. It also offers non-queer students an opportunity to experience some of the facets of queer culture.” 

McIntosh described, “Pride After Dark (PAD) is meant to align with National Pride Day, a day in which the LGBTQ+ community celebrates and is celebrated. This event aims to celebrate those of varying sexual and gender identities on the Stevens campus. Our event’s goal is to encourage unity and allyship amongst campus, and to help release any stigmas the people on campus may hold about the LGBTQ+ community.” 

According to Mills and McIntosh, some events that students can look forward to are two drag queen performances, singing and dance performances from Stevens students, three raffles, free food, and prize opportunities. There will also be a DJ at the event. For Pride Week as a whole, Delman mentioned there will be Pride Games, guest speakers, and more details for Pride Week’s events can be found on Ducklink. 

As some may know, last year’s Pride After Dark was held virtually due to the pandemic. Since this year’s Pride After Dark is in person, the planning process was different. Mills and McIntosh shared their experiences. Mills noted, “In comparison to last year, the planning process was a lot more involved. Having a virtual event offers a lot of flexibility and ease when it comes to planning an event. This year’s in-person event involved a bit more planning […] Despite the extra logistics involved, our performers, the Office of University Events, and the Office of DEI have all been exceptional when it has come to preparing for this event.”

McIntosh, co-president of oSTEM and a sexuality advocate for the Diversity & Inclusion Committee explained her experience, “Considering I’m a first-year student, jumping into a role like this and attempting to host such a large event is an extremely intimidating task, but luckily Connor and DNI Chairperson Vivian Touch have been amazing role models and given me immense support in the process.” 

Pride Week at Stevens is definitely an exciting event full of plenty of opportunities to learn about LGBT+ issues and celebrate the LGBT+ community together on campus. Mills reflected, “I am so happy to be a part of Pride Week and Pride After Dark because it is so greatly important for queer students at Stevens to have a space where they can feel safe and celebrated, even if just for a night.” 

This year’s Pride Week being in person will no doubt be special and this inclusive event invites everyone to participate. As McIntosh said, “As someone who has never had the opportunity to be a part of a community in which pride is loved and celebrated, I am unbelievably proud and excited to now be able to foster an environment for my community here at Stevens. Thank you to everyone, including attendees, who help make Pride After Dark a reality.”