LGBTQI “Night of Pride”: A look back to the early days, the history of the club

Held without the bells and whistles of most celebrations was the faculty/staff Pride committee's "Night of Pride," a Jan. 29 event celebrating diversity and inclusiveness.

Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Language and Cultures Department John Miller was the keynote speaker at the event, which according to event organizer Linda Watts gathered 60-70 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersexual (LGBTQI) and allied faculty, staff and students. The event also featured nine video stories from participants in October's "Coming Out Day."

Miller's lecture revolved around "the history of LGBTQI issues and advocacy at UCCS and in the Colorado Springs community," according to Watts.

Having traveled to teach in Turkey, Colombia, and India, Miller was drawn back to speak at the UCCS campus because of what he saw at a Pride rally this past summer. Miller recounted, "seeing the development of things that I helped start when I got here in 1987 made me want to come back and talk to the students."

Miller discussed the early days of the LGBTQI community on the UCCS campus.

It all started with student initiative and a sign he had in his office that read, "I came to live out loud." Recounting the course the LGBTQI community had to travel was not an easy one, he spoke about facing persecution and hate crimes alike.

"When you take initiative, there will be obstacles, but many rewards await you," he explained. He continued by reminding the students that today, it is much easier to live an alternative lifestyle than when he was on the UCCS campus.

"The biggest difference is the post-amendment culture; they place a greater emphasis on diversity."

At the conclusion of the speech, videos were shown of individuals who came out during last fall's "Coming Out Day", and a discussion followed.

"What I see is institutions like Matrix and Pride group progressing and becoming an accepted part of the community. The real change is acceptance and promotion of diversity," said Miller.

More information about the LGBTQI community is available http://www.uccs.edu/~cao/spectrum/.