Dear LCC Community,
Each June, Pride Month offers us an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ members of our community and to recognize the many ways they enrich our college culture and community.
Pride is a celebration of identity. It is a celebration of community, joy and belonging. It is also rooted in courage. The modern Pride movement grew from the Stonewall Uprising of June 1969, when LGBTQIA2S+ people stood together against discrimination and mistreatment. The decades since have brought meaningful progress because generations of people have spoken up, supported one another, and worked to build a more just and inclusive society.
That work is not finished.
The rhetoric that continues to surface in our broader culture is a reminder that prejudice and hostility toward LGBTQIA2S+ individuals are not simply part of our history. They remain present today. This reality reinforces why it is important to continue creating opportunities for conversation, celebration, learning, and the elevation of voices that have too often been marginalized.
Here at LCC, our values are clear. Beyond simply welcoming, we value and promote diversity among our students, employees, and community. We are committed to cultivating a respectful, inclusive, accessible, and equitable learning and working environment. Our WISE statement calls upon each of us to engage with one another with respect, courtesy and kindness - especially when our perspectives or experiences differ.
This commitment is central to who we are as a community college. Education asks us to listen with curiosity to experiences beyond our own. It allows us to understand more fully the ways that difference, power, and privilege shape the world around us. It also asks us to ensure that everyone can learn and work as their authentic self.
To our LGBTQIA2S+ community members: you are valued and you belong at Lane. Your contributions make our college stronger.
I hope you all will join me reaffirming our shared responsibility to foster a welcoming, inclusive, safe and equitable environment throughout the year.
With gratitude,
Stephanie