Choate’s LGBTQ student group on campus, known as SPECTRUM, hosted its annual pride conference last Sunday. The club, which hosts weekly conversations on LGBTQ issues, invited Mr. David Dinielli and Ms. Sage Adams to speak about their work and experiences with the LGBTQ community. Explained SPECTRUM officer Kathryn Phillips ’20, “The SPECTRUM conference this Sunday is about bringing together many different communities and many different types of LGBTQ communities from different boarding schools and to have them communicate together to find better ways to handle LGBTQ issues on their direct campus.”
Those who attended the conference went through workshops and conversations, as well as listened to speakers. “We have a few speakers, over five different schools coming, and a couple workshops planned like drag, changing schools, and understanding LGBTQ culture in media. There are a lot of different topics, but it is ultimately a fun community,” added Phillips.
The first speaker at the conference was Mr. Dinielli. He is the Deputy Legal Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center for all things LGBTQ related, fighting every day for LGBTQ rights. The second speaker is Ms. Adams, who co-founded the ArtHo collective. The ArtHo collective is a popular movement right now which is working “to reclaim the art of queer people of color,” according to Phillips. “She has also used her art to express her identity and as a way to take political action. She does a lot of different cover photos for artists and musicians as well as her own art on her Instagram. It is going to be very interesting to see what she brings,” continued Phillips.
As an annual tradition, it is each cabinet’s responsibility to differentiate their conference. “I would like to think that every year, it is bringing something new to each students so that each student can get something that they want out of it,” said Phillips. She continued, “That’s why the speakers we have are really interesting and very necessary for the kind of world we are in. Not only is it important to have art and identity celebrated, but also it’s important to have legal and academic directors and representatives giving support.”
SPECTRUM also reached out to those beyond the LGBTQ community. “Every year, we have a week dedicated to introducing the campus more to what an ally means and understanding that not just LGBTQ people represent the LGBTQ community. Ultimately, what we are trying to do is make there be equality, and for that to happen, there needs to be allies who maybe aren’t in the LGBTQ community but also share the same values and want the same end goal of equality,” said Phillips.
This year’s conference was similar in structure to past years and provided a solid platform for LGBTQ conversation about society and current policies. “ It was so cool though because I met so many amazing people, and I led a workshop, which was such an amazing learning experience,” said Phillips. “When you get in that space with all those other people, you are just another innovator, another person, another justice warrior. You are another person who just wants equality and happiness, and that is something that is celebrated at the conference. Last year really put that inspiration and that seed in my mind about the importance of the LGBTQ community that we have.”
Kobe Tray ’19 also enjoyed the conference and really connected with the speakers. He said, “They talked about activism, intersectionality, and different issues that the LGBTQ community faces.” He particularly enjoyed Ms. Adams: “They spoke about how being black and having a support network and self confidence led them to be able to express themselves fully and start the art hoe collective which celebrates queer black art which tends to get underrepresented in mainstream media.”
For the future, SPECTRUM hopes to continue its conferences and expand to other mediums of activities. “Our goal is to make sure that not only is SPECTRUM strong and grounded, but we also want to have more movie nights and more fun experiences where allies and people in the LGBTQ community can come together. The dream for the future is just making sure that we are celebrating, and at the same time doing things that are actually making change,” explained Phillips.
