The university will break ground on a new public space, “Common Ground,” April 27 to celebrate and affirm its support and allyship with LGBTQ+ and other communities. A flag raising ceremony with both a Pride flag and a Hate Has No Home Here flag will take place at 11 a.m. outside the lower level of the Student Center. All members of the WSU community are encouraged to come out to show their support.
“For many years, Worcester State University has wanted to raise a Pride flag to signal that LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty are welcome at Worcester State University,” said Stacey Luster, general counsel and assistant to the president for employment and equal opportunity. Now the hard work of a planning committee that includes students, faculty, and staff is about to be realized.
During the ceremony, students from the course LGBTQ+ Narratives will share original writing, reflecting on LGBTQ+ identities and issues from a variety of vantage points.
“Events like the flag raising are important to assert WSU’s commitment to embrace our LGBTQ+ community members and facilitate and champion their success,” said Riley McGuire, Ph.D., assistant professor in the English Department and one of the co-chairs of the University’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. “This commitment is especially urgent in the context of the heterosexist and transphobic legislation that is increasingly imperiling the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ students across the country.”
Plans are to fly two flags on the unity flagpole at all times. The Pride flag will always fly, and it will be accompanied by a rotating unity flag sponsored by different University groups.
Contact Stacey Luster at sluster@worcester.edu for additional information or to request accommodations.
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