Pride Month

2023 Theme: Love Me Tender, Love Me Queer

Tenderness is made possible by courage. We celebrate the softness needed for self-discovery, healing, and growth. The comfort found in community carries us through trauma. Our vulnerability is our strength.

We wear our scars proudly, but we are not defined by them. Hate can rear its head in the form of bullets or bills, but love reveals a path through tough times. When hope feels scarce, we turn to the open arms of our beloveds, we rest, and we remember that our fierceness cannot be contained by the shackles of bigotry. We are resilient, even though we should not have to be.

Progress is only possible because our elders have paved the way. The institutions of this settler-colonial state only acknowledged our humanity because fifty years ago, drag queens and sex workers threw bricks at cops. We celebrate the legacy of those who left us too early and give our roses to the living legends who are still here. Fifty years later, we reaffirm that there is no pride for some of us without justice for all of us.

In these halls of learning, we commit to the discomfort of unlearning our own ignorance. We must interrogate our own complicity in a system that leaves the queer and trans visionaries of our time struggling to pay rent. Only then can we begin to create the just future we deserve. We are united in the journey toward our shared liberation.

We shine bright. We treasure our soft, strong hearts. We are enough, and we are beautiful.

Pride Month 2023 Calendar of Events

Queer Recess - April 3 to 25

Every Monday (3, 10, 17, 24) and Tuesday (4, 11, 18, 25) in April
11:00am to 12:30pm
Location: LGBTQ+ Equity Center (2218 Marie Mount Hall)

Hosted by the LGBTQ+ Equity Center

The Femme Alignment Picnic - April 4

Tuesday April 4
5:00pm to 6:00pm
Location: Washington Quad

Hosted by The Femme Alignment

This event is open to all queer and trans women, as well as gender non-conforming individuals.

Pride Month Kickoff Event / Trans Day of Visibility Celebration - April 4

Tuesday, April 4
Dinner served at 7:30pm; program at 8pm
Location: Stamp Grand Ballroom
RSVP on TerpLink here

Featuring Pride Keynote Speaker Rayceen Pendarvis

Hosted by Pride Month Committee & MICA in partnership with the LGBTQ+ Equity Center, the Office of Graduate Diversity & Inclusion, and SEE

CARE in Conversation LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Prevention: Reimagining Frameworks for Sexual & Relationship Violence Education - April 6

Thursday, April 6
3:30pm to 5:00pm
Location: University Health Center 0141

Hosted by CARE to Stop Violence

Optional RSVP: go.umd.edu/careinconversation

PRIDE Gaymer Night - April 6

Thursday April 6
5:00pm to 7:00pm
Location: A.V Williams Room 3258

Hosted by the College of Information Studies and Immersive Media Design

SEE Movie Night: Bound - April 11

Tuesday, April 11
8:00pm
Location: Hoff Theater, Stamp Student Union

Hosted by SEE

Free STI Testing - April 12

Wednesday, April 12
12:00pm to 2:00pm
Location: Stamp Grand Ballroom

Hosted by the University Health Center

Pesach Oneg - April 12

Wednesday, April 12
9:30pm
Location: Hillel Multipurpose Room

The oneg (aftermeal time with snacks and friends) is for anyone and everyone to attend. Please contact queerjewishterps@gmail.com for information on the passover seder, which is only open to LGBTQ+ Jews.

Hosted by Hamsa

Real Talk: Being Queer & Your Career - April 13

Thursday, April 13
6:00pm
Location: Antonov Auditorium, 0328 Iribe Center For Computer Science and Engineering

Hosted by the Pride Month Committee & the University Career Center in partnership with MICA

SEE Presents: Spring Drag Show ft. Kornbread Jeté - April 14

Friday, April 14
Doors open at 6:00pm and close at 7:30pm; show at 7:00pm
Location: Stamp Grand Ballroom.

Tickets required and can be reserved for free at umdtickets.com

Hosted by SEE

Pride Picnic and Fair - April 15

Saturday, April 15
12:00pm to 3:00pm
Location: McKeldin Mall

Hosted by Gemstone Honors College

Penthouse Sweets: LGBTQ+ Students in Tech - April 17

Monday, April 17
3:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Penthouse Rooftop, Iribe Center For Computer Science and Engineering

Hosted by the Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing

Queer Colors: LGBTQ+ BIPOC Hangout - April 17

Monday, April 17
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Location: MICA Cozy Corner (basement of Stamp opposite Studio A)

Hosted by MICA Community Organizing Student Interns

Stamp Gallery presents: LIMBSHIFT - April 17 to May 19

Exhibition opens April 17 and runs through May 19
Free and open to the public during Stamp Gallery hours
Location: Stamp Gallery

Opening reception: Thursday, April 20, 5:30pm to 7:30pm

Artist Talk: Wednesday, April 26, 6:30pm

Outdoor Queer Recess - April 24

Monday, April 24
11:00am to 12:30pm
Location: McKeldin Mall

Hosted by the LGBTQ+ Equity Center

Storytime in Drag! - April 24

Monday, April 24
12:00pm to 2:00pm
Location: McK 6137, McKeldin Library

Hosted by University Libraries | https://umd.libcal.com/event/10640310

Advocacy Teach-In - April 24

Monday, April 24
5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location: Juan Ramon Jimenez, 2208 Stamp Student Union

Hosted by the Pride Month Committee & MICA

Featuring Lee Blinder (Trans Maryland) and Benjamin Brooks (Whitman-Walker Health)

Queer Interfaith Panel - April 24

Monday, April 24
6:00pm to 7:30pm
Location: Grand Ballroom Lounge, 1209 Stamp Student Union

Hosted by Hamsa / Nice Jewish Queers, ReBorn This Way, and Bias Incident Support Services

Mixed/Multiethnic Identities within the LGBTQ Community - April 26

Wednesday, April 26
7:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Cozy Corner, basement of Stamp across Studio A

Hosted by Multiracial Biracial Student Association

Polyamory Workshop - April 27

Thursday, April 27
11:30am to 12:30pm
Location: LGBTQ+ Equity Center, 2218 Marie Mount Hall

Hosted by Quentin Leifer, M.S. '23 [pronouns: per/per/pers]

CQA Intersectionality Event - April 28

Friday, April 28
5pm
Location: Pyon Su Room, 2108 Stamp Student Union

Hosted by CQA - Campus Queers & Allies

Imagining Fictitious [non] futures with Dan Ortiz Leizman - April 28

Friday, April 28
7:30pm
Location: Studio A

Hosted by Stamp Gallery

Grad LGBTQ+ Student Mixer - May 3

Wednesday, May 3
5:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Grand Ballroom Lounge, 1209 Stamp Student Union
RSVP at tinyurl.com/GradLGBTQ

Hosted by MICA and the LGBTQ+ Equity Center

Other LGBTQ+ Programming at UMD

These meetings and resources have been taking place throughout the year at UMD and will continue even after Pride Month!

Weekly meetings of LGBTQ+ Student Groups

There are nine student-facilitated LGBTQ+ student discussion groups that have meetings weekly or biweekly, most of which take place in the LGBTQ+ Equity Center (2218 Marie Mount Hall). Head over to the Student Groups webpage run by LGBTQ+ Equity Center webpage for an up-to-date list of their meeting times and locations.

Counseling Resources

The Counseling Center is a safe and inclusive space where counselors provide support to students from underrepresented populations.

Rainbow Walk-In

Free unscheduled time with a counselor is available to LGBT students. Find more information about Drop-In Hour: Safe and Inclusive Support on the Counseling Center website.

Group Counseling

The Student of Color LGBTQ+ Support Group is open to undergraduate and graduate students of Color who represent the sexual orientation and gender continuum. Members of the group are invited to participate in co-creating a space to discuss identity, coming out, transitioning, relationships, struggles, victories, and more - a space to decompress, share what's on your mind, and find support.

The LGBTQIA+ Support Group provides a co-created space for non-heterosexual (e.g., bi, asexual, queer, lesbian, gay) and gender expansive (e.g., transgender, genderqueer, agender, gender non-conforming) undergraduate and graduate students to engage in discussions around their identities, coming out and/or transitioning experiences, relationships, families, as well as struggles and victories.

Upcoming Change in UMD Celebration of LGBTQ+ community

The University of Maryland will move the celebration of our LGBTQ+ community to October in honor of National LGBTQ History Month.

A high school teacher named Rodney Wilson created "Gay History Month" in 1994 to celebrate and educate about gay and lesbian history. This month was selected to coincide with National Coming Out Day on October 11 and to commemorate the first and second marches on Washington in 1979 and 1987 for LGBT rights.

Another key reason was to select a time when school is in session.

Our campus has historically celebrated the LGBTQ+ community in April, since most students are not present during National Pride Month in June. This year, UMD will extend our theme of Love me Tender, Love me Queer from Pride Month in April 2023 to LGBTQ History Month in October 2023. We will then continue to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community every October, with our next theme to be selected for October 2024.