Write-up by Claire Davies
Members of the LGBTQ+ community, and allies, within the Physics & Astronomy department, gathered for lunch on Friday June 2nd to commemorate Pride Month*.
Attendees were encouraged to bring their own lunch, and the organisers – who also help run regional LGBTQ+ STEMM network PRISM Exeter – brought along ‘Proud to be a Scientist’ stickers, diffraction glasses, and LGBTQ+ STEMM role models leaflets (and cake, of course!).
The event was enjoyed by all, with one undergraduate student feeding back that they usually find academic events a bit awkward but that they found this event really welcoming. There was unanimous support among attendees for such a lunch to happen more regularly, and two members of staff have volunteered to launch a peer support network for LGBTQ+ departmental staff and students and their allies in readiness for the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
*Pride Month is a celebration and commemoration of Lesbian, Gay, Bi/Pan, Trans, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQ+) rights progression and culture. Pride celebrations have historically been held in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots in the USA.