The Libby Residential Academic Program (LRAP) will be loud and proud in October as part of LGBTQIA+ History Month by hosting two key events to celebrate LGBTQIA+ culture on the CU Boulder campus.听
On Oct.听7鈥�8, LRAP students will plant hundreds of LGBTQIA+ flags around Libby Hall. This act of service learning will bring awareness to the meaning of the many flags and identities represented and demonstrate the听Libby Residential Academic Program鈥檚 commitment to diversity and excellence. Six other Arts and Sciences RAPs (Baker, Farrand, Global Studies, Honors, Health Professions, and Sewall), have all committed to support this initiative on Oct.听7 by planting their own flags to help create an inclusive campus culture.
鈥淗opefully, one day, the entire campus will be covered with these flags,鈥� said Dr. Cecilia Pang, LRAP's director. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see rainbows everywhere!鈥�
The flags will remain for the entire month of October.
The second event will bring members of the LRAP community (faculty and students) together for an evening of bingo fun with drag queen听Mrs. Eda Bagel听from Boulder. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited to celebrate what is an artistic and activist aspect of LGBTQIA+ culture with an event that not only creates awareness, acceptance, and goodwill, but also will be loads of fun,鈥� LRAP Associate Director听Dr. Karen Auvinen听said.
The Libby Residential Academic Program is a living and learning community of more than 400 first-year students. Uniting with the College of Arts and Sciences, LRAP offers courses under multiple arts disciplines, along with core requirement courses, to provide a curriculum that matches their motto: 鈥淲here creative minds come alive.鈥澨�
Libby has adopted CU鈥檚 Inclusive Excellence as a guiding principle to 鈥渃entralize diversity, demonstrate its commitment to holistic student development, and challenge hegemonic practices within higher education,鈥� said Jillian Martinez, LRAP鈥檚 program coordinator. Last year, Martinez initiated a monthly recognition of heritage and history months by delivering both passive and active educational content via bulletin boards, invited speakers and performers, and community events听such as 鈥淟ibby Lights Up the Lunar New Year,鈥� 鈥淲omen Hold Up Half the Sky,鈥� and 鈥淪peaking to Stolen Land: How Indigenous Media Combats Colonization.鈥� The celebration of LGBTQIA+ History month as well as Latinx History Month and Native American History Month this fall ensures that the education of diverse identities continues at Libby.
