Freedoms and rights for the LGBTQIA+ community have come a long way, with still a long way to go. To commemorate this Pride Month, we asked College alumni who or what fills them with hope for the future of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Highlighted Alumni:
- Joel Mendias (he/him) CC’89
Executive Producer/North America, Scanline VFX“I'm filled with hope by our activism, on scales large and small. From big national organizations like HRC and LAMBDA Legal, to local organizations like the Los Angeles LGBT Center. I'm filled with hope by our vast and varied contributions to America's landscape: the arts, sports, politics, business, the sciences, and so much more. Our continued visibility in those areas fills me with hope, as well, because it signals that we will not be rendered invisible. We continue to demand our rightful place at the table, and we're not going away. Ever!”
- Miranda Elliot (she/her) CC’10
Owner and Founder of Elliot Wine School“I'm seeing more and more people living their authentic truth when it comes to gender and sexuality. I've felt pressure to fit into a box when it comes to gender and sexuality but releasing that has been freeing. In my industry, there are more and more of us who identify as LGBTQIA+ coming together to support each other and make connections. I love seeing and helping to facilitate some of these connections between LGBTQIA+ people just starting out and those who have been in my industry for decades."
- Anonymous
“I was probably one of the first College alums to be trans. Certainly, I stood out like a sore thumb at Class of 1968 reunions as the only female classmate ('68 was before CC went coed). Fifty years ago, no one knew anyone who was trans. Now trans people are constantly in the news. Unfortunately, much of that news is about intolerance. But at least public awareness has grown. Things will inevitably get better as the world gets used to the full participation of trans people in society.”
- Erik Nook (he/him) CC’12
Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate, Harvard University“There have been tremendous changes in educational, political, and media systems over the last few decades that all give me much hope for the future. Representation of queer folks has increased tremendously, and stories are moving towards presenting queer lives, queer love, and queer issues as part of the typical human experience. This normalization of our experience is so powerful in creating a sense of belonging. That said, we have much work to do to support especially trans folks and queer people of color. May we never stop fighting until all of us are free.”
- Ellen Broido (she/her) CC’87
Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Bowling Green State University“My students, who refuse to understand or enact queerness as anything other than intersectional, powerful, and intentional."
- Wally Suphap (he/him) CC’01 LAW’04
Lawyer, Writer, Advocate; SOA MFA Candidate in Writing starting in Fall 2021"Having returned to Columbia after practicing law for 15 years, I am amazed by the students I encounter in class, each oozing such intense intellectual curiosity and genuine inclusivity. All the while our instructors encourage us to bring our whole selves to class and to our writing. This may seem like a utopian microcosm, but it shows just what is possible: a community where diversity, inclusion, and equity are respected and celebrated, in all forms and colors."
- Adam Rosenberg (he/him) CC’91
“How far we've come was almost inconceivable from where we came. Our growing awareness, presence, and love continue to inspire. Love on!”
- Carlos V. Cruz (any pronouns) CC’88
Consultant and Adjunct Instructor“The continued courageousness of every member of our community who finds the strength to tell the world who they love and how they want to express themselves gives me hope for a more inclusive, more evolved society. The visibility that comes from this courageousness can propel young and old in the LGBTQ+ family to reject the limitations that hold many back from achieving their wildest dreams. Perhaps, someday soon, we will not only have an LGBTQ+ member of the US Presidential Cabinet, but the President themself will proudly claim this community as their own. We will openly take our place among prominent inventors, scientists, doctors, soldiers, states people, educators, and executives without having to hide part of ourselves and do justice to the memory of those whose contributions to society are immeasurable yet could not live freely and honestly."
- Elise Feldman (she/her) CC’95
Of Counsel, Rothman, Rocco, LaRuffa, LLP“Getting a pride sign from my town. Living in the burbs with wife & kids. Kids welcomed & thriving in modern orthodox Jewish day school."