Usm’s First Annual Week of Pride A Week of Events Celebrating and Supporting The Queer Community

Kelly Ledsworth Editor-in-Chief

Pride & Pretzels event, joining WMPG to a chill night of tunes. Playing songs from artists such as Freddy Mercury, Claro, Girl in Red, Phoebe Bridgers, and more. While music was playing, there was a make-your-own trail mix table, where people could walk up and customize their own ziplock bag of trail mix. All the regular fixings for trail mix such as chocolate chips, M&Ms, pretzels, chex mix, and a few other things. After a treat, you could walk over to a table to talk about the different events as well as a bowl of pronoun pins. While relaxing, you could see people drawing or catching up on homework while enjoying the atmosphere.

March 29th saw a Transgender Day of Visibility Panel held where there was space given for a diverse panel of students and staff to speak about their experiences. A lot of discrimination in both social and legislative circles against transgender people has become more evident recently in the U.S. It was powerful to have the panel come together and discuss how they have been feeling and what the impact has had on the community. This reminds us all how important having safe spaces for the community is.

year, and was a nice opener to the flag raising event that happened at 4pm in Gorham. This is a new tradition that they plan to continue doing annually. While the flag was raised on all three campuses that day, Spaulding, Kip Foster, and Sarah Holmes all gave speeches to commemorate this event. In events earlier in the week, there were five different iterations of the pride flag on display throughout the week. The flag that was raised was the most recent iteration of the flag, the Intersex Progress Pride Flag. This newest iteration has added the intersex symbol to include folks who don’t fit in the binary.

On the final day of the Week of Pride there was the 23rd Annual Royal Majesty Drag Show. This is always a landmark event at USM, with the event selling close to 200 tickets this year in Hannaford Hall. A variety of student performers were able to showcase their talent and art in both competitive and passive settings. The show was cohosted by Boston and Portland drag royalty, Ariana LaDessé and Kori King, with the competition being judged by a variety of USM faculty from various departments.

University Of Southern Maine’s first annual Week of Pride offered a wide array of programming for queer populations on campus. The Week of Pride was hosted by the Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA), with support from LGBTQIA+ USM faculty and staff. While talking to Bryan Spaulding, a board member of the QSA, he mentioned how he really wanted more representation for the queer community on campus. After having found out there had not been a pride week at the university for quite some time, he wanted to create one. Spaulding talked about some of the inspiration behind the idea: “Especially with everything that’s happening in the world, especially with the bans of trangender rights, healthcare, drag bans. As a drag queen myself, I knew we needed something uplifting.”

Pride month happens in the month of June, and most people are not on campus. It can be hard for a lot of students who are not out to their family at home, or feel like they don’t have a welcoming community for themselves outside of school. Usually during pride month, there are a lot of events that bring people together to celebrate themselves and the culture that they’re a part of. Having just a small portion of that be available at USM outside of the month of June gives students that opportunity to celebrate queer identities. During this week, many residential and commuter students, faculty and staff were able to partake in the activities these events had to offer.

This week of events kicked off on March 28th with a

The week was a much needed assortment of queer centered events. This was just one week out of the whole year to celebrate one another in this diverse community. Pride -

Sudoku

Level of difficulty: Medium

The object of a sudoku is to fill in the remaining squares so that every row, every column, and every 3 × 3 box contains each of the numbers from 1 to 9 exactly once.

Word Search

Search for the list of words in the grid of letters. Grab a pen and circle each word as you find them.

Theme: Summer Lovin clumsy, sleepy primate.” mental clarity while deeply relaxing.

3. A sativa-dominant hybrid. Smokers often

9. A sativa strain that is uplifting and has

Across: flavor profile that is smooth on the exhale.

4. A hybrid mix with an intense body buzz and relaxation, a calming sensation that can help reduce stress and anxiety levels.

5. Indica-dominant, but the sativa effects are prominent. Uplifting and euphoric, provides mental clarity while deeply relaxing.

6. A mild sativa-dominant strain that delivers many cerebral, head-high effects that keep users feeling energetic and happy.

10. A hybrid strain with a near 60/40 indica/sativa split. A powerful and relaxed extended high.

11. A popular sativa strain, with effects of a blast of mental energy and a feeling of heightened creativity.

12. Indica-dominant, will make you feel relaxed and sleepy. along with relaxation. Often reported that this strain is uplifting.

13. A pure indica strain with the effect of complete relaxation and a feeling of sedation.

Horoscopes

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Your mental powers should be especially acute today, Aries. Your mind will be quick and receptive and your communicative abilities exceptional.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

A memory, dream, vision, or meditation could trigger a rush of spiritual energy,

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

A message from a friend could make your day, Gemini. The good news may involve travel, money, or a love relationship.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

A lot of different possibilities have opened up for you recently, and you’re trying to figure out which is the most appropriate now.

Leo (July 23 - August 22)

Talk of traveling to distant and exotic places could come up at a gathering of family and friends, Leo.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

You have a keen intellect and unparalleled persuasive powers, Virgo. If you aren’t an attorney, you should be.

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

So many fascinating ideas have come your way over the past few days that your mind is spinning.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

A deep, intimate conversation could take place today between you and a romantic interest, Scorpio.

Volleyball

Barbecue

Road Trip

Sunset Breeze

Hiking

Sunscreen

Sunrise

Camping

Picnic

Summer Lakes

Swimming

Walking Running Warmth Beach

Ocean

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

This morning you may wake up from a dream with many inspiring new ideas. If you’re into creative activity of any kind, you will want to jot these down.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

You are always on the go Capricorn. Don’t forget to take time for yourself during your busy life.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

You might be feeling down today Aquarius. If so go outside today and get some fresh air.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Books that you may have received as gifts could have you thinking deeply about spiritual or philosophical matters today, Pisces.