Trinity Athletics Department Partners with the Queer Resource Center to Host Second Annual Fall Pride Day

Cece Hampton ’24

Sports Editor

On Sept. 23, 2023, the Trinity Athletics Department partnered with the Queer Resource Center (QRC) to host the second annual Fall Pride Day. Bantam athletic competition this weekend, including football, volleyball, field hockey and rowing, among other sports, all participated in Pride Day. Pride Day aims to promote an atmosphere of inclusion and belonging surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. The QRC hosted a table at each of the events to promote the Trevor Project, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual and transgender youth. The tables provided information on the organization, further resources, and received donations for the Trevor Project. However, Pride Day is not the only way Trinity has fostered LGBTQ+ diversity, equity and inclusivity into its campus climate and culture.

In April 2023, Trinity welcomed Lex Horwitz (they/ them), to campus for a daylong program on promoting inclusivity in the athletics department. Lex is a queer, nonbinary, transgender, educator, activist, public speaker and consultant, and has been nationally recognized for their efforts in promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion and belonging in athletics. Lex attended Bowdoin College where they studied psychology and gender, sexuality and women’s studies, while also competing on the men’s squash team. Lex was the first out transgender athlete to compete at Bowdoin and also the first out transgender athlete in all of collegiate squash. Lex shared their unique journey as a collegiate athlete and experiences beyond college, to the Trinity community.

The programming led by Lex was open to coaches, staff and student-athletes, and finished off with a keynote speech that was open to the entire student body to attend. Lex provided guidance to student-athletes on how to take the tools from the workshops and talks and apply them to their own teams and communities, in order to foster an inclusive and affirming environment for everyone. Lex’s visit to Trinity also included a thorough assessment of all of the athletic facilities on campus and recommendations on how they could be improved to be more inclusive, such as all gender bathrooms and updated signage.

Additionally, the QRC has provided the LGBTQ+ Foundations and Allyship Course to all of the coaches, student-athletes and athletic department staff. On the Campus Pride Index (CPI), which is an independent database that evaluates LGBTQ inclusiveness on campuses nationwide, Trinity recently earned five out of five stars. Trinity has participated in the index for over 10 years and has steadily increased its rating from when it started at 3.5 stars. The strategies the school has developed and implemented to create a more inclusive culture is reflected in the consistent improvement the campus has witnessed over the years in its CPI rating. In light of this work and the positive outcomes it has yielded so far, the Trinity athletics department continues to build its relationship with the QRC and to seek new ways to collaborate on future initiatives.