On October 18th, the PDS Upper School met in McAneney Theater for a special gathering celebrating LGBTQ+ history month. Organized by PRIDE, this gathering featured a brief history of LGBTQ+ figures and personal stories from several community members. Students and staff shared their experiences of coming out and accepting their identities.
Several students spoke about recognizing the LGBTQ+ community; senior Mia Hartman shared her coming out story, and senior and PRIDE member Emile Sentveld gave a presentation on LGBTQ+ figures throughout history.
The decision to give a speech at the gathering came easily to junior Humzah Ladiwala, a member of PRIDE and one of the speakers. “I wanted to help immediately because I like sharing stories, and if I could share mine, that’d be sick,” he said.
When asked whether he believed that he made an impact on the PDS community, Ladiwala said, “Because of how vulnerable we were and because we emphasized that queer people are just regular people who feel and love, I think it definitely opened some people’s minds a bit. If our gathering impacted one person to start thinking about their own identity and if they gained some confidence and assurance that they have a place here, then we succeeded.”
Students additionally had the opportunity to hear about the experiences of staff members in the community. Upper School Computer Science teacher Theodor Brasoveanu and Head of Upper School Katie O’Shaughnessey shared their experiences of being a part of the community, discussing the importance of celebrating queer-identifying individuals.
The sharing of stories and histories of the LGBTQ+ community gives both students and teachers a sense of belonging in the PDS community. How PRIDE members spoke about such difficult, personal subjects serves as an inspiration to the rest of the school community in addition to recognition of the LGBTQ+ community.
