Rainbow Alliance continues to meet over zoom during quarantine
By Melinda Yang
As I’m sure many of us felt, going to school online was an unusual experience. Community is a significant part of being at Waldorf, and video calls will never quite replace the feeling of greeting friends and teachers in the hallways. We certainly felt the difference in the Rainbow Alliance, WSP’s club for members of the LGBTQIAP+ community and allies. Usually, our lunch meetings are spent discussing club and community-related topics, exploring representations of the LGBTQIAP+ community in media, or planning a rainbow-themed table for the club fair. With the onset of the pandemic, we migrated to post-Announcements period Zoom calls, with all the connectivity problems and awkward silences we’ve come to accept as part of the distance learning experience.
While in quarantine, we continued to educate the wider school community. During Announcements periods, we finished our series of informational presentations on some of the more commonly used labels in the LGBTQIAP+ acronym. In addition, we were able to adapt the Day of Silence, an annual nation-wide event in which participants take a vow of silence to raise awareness for the LGBTQIAP+ community, for a virtual environment by asking participants to keep themselves muted while on Zoom.
Within the club itself, we spent some time checking in, simply hanging out—awkward silences notwithstanding—and wrapped up the year by watching Love, Simon, a warm-hearted gay teen romance. We’ve reflected on all we’ve accomplished over the course of the year, and we’re looking forward to next year. We may not be returning to campus just yet, but we’re definitely planning on continuing to educate the community and creating a space where everyone can feel safe and supported, even if we’re not together in person.
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