Students dance, raise awareness at LGBT prom

Nearly 100 Pitt students got a chance to relive their prom night last weekend, but this time they boogied in a community that didn’t push them to conceal their gender identities or sexualities.

The pop music pounded out of the speakers, and students danced and laughed underneath dimmed lights and glass chandeliers. People dressed for the occasion in suits, dresses, heels, and slicked-back hair. There were even a few wrist corsages.

While the atmosphere was glamorous, it was more importantly safe and comfortable.

Capping National Coming Out Week — the week of Oct. 11— Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance threw down in the O’Hara Ballroom for its first “Over the Rainbow Prom,” a gathering meant to celebrate and spread awareness of LGBTQ+ issues on campus. At the Oct. 16 event, students jammed to acapella groups, C Flat Run and the Pitt Pendulums, Pitt Hip-Hop Dance Crew, Controlled Chaos, and student band, O’Hara. According to Rainbow Alliance president, Marcus Robinson, there were between 85 and 100 prom attendees.

Communications Officer for Rainbow Alliance Kwai Lin Kennedy said the prom was necessary because much of the LGBTQ+ community does not attend or enjoy their first prom experience.

“I see this prom as an opportunity in that LGBTQ+ individuals can wear what they might not have been allowed to wear to their prom or be with dates that they might not have been allowed to bring to their prom,” said Kennedy.

C Flat Run sang a loud, empowering R&B set with songs by Tori Kelly, Coldplay and Twenty One Pilots, to contrast the pop music the DJ played. The audience formed an arc around them with Controlled Chaos anchoring one end, hip-hop dancing and cheering, and the Pitt Pendulums anchoring the other, singing along.

Robinson helped plan the Rainbow Alliance’s first prom as a space where the LGBTQ+ community can embrace and celebrate their identities.

“I want to use my privilege to create a safe space for people on campus,” said Robinson. “National Coming Out Week makes you reflect on your own coming out and all that was involved in coming out, and this week may be a significant time for students who are considering coming out.”

Outside the dance floor in the William Pitt Union ballroom was a table with safe sex items such as internal and external condoms. There was also a large sign that read “Gender Neutral Bathroom” in bubble letters, blocking what previously showed a female bathroom sign.

For sophomore sociology major Adrianne Glenn, this weekend was a chance to experience a tradition she was sorry to have missed out on.

“I didn’t go to my prom in high school so this is another opportunity,” Glenn said. “I went to high school in a really rural area and I didn’t feel comfortable being out. But it’s easier here.”

Downstairs, the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force — a community organization working to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and support those living with HIV/AIDS — administered free HIV testing. Task members obtained a saliva sample from the inside of the cheek to send to a lab for results in 7-10 days.

Task Force member Claire Scheffer said it is especially important for the LGBTQ+ community to get tested.

“It is roughly estimated that 3 percent of males are gay, yet homosexual men make up 63 percent of the HIV positive population,” Scheffer said. “It’s always good to know your status even if it’s negative so that you can confidently tell your partner and maybe encourage them to get tested too.”

Many of the prom attendees identified in the LGBTQ+ community. Others, like Kennedy, came as an ally.

“In high school, almost all of my friends identified as LGBTQ+, my ex identified as LGBTQ+, and I just saw this as a cause that I felt should be addressed and one that needs more of a voice,” Kennedy said. “I want to use my privilege to give a voice to those voices that may be silenced.”