First UCLA Anderson LGBTQ Awareness Week
UCLA Anderson School of Management held the first UCLA Anderson LGBTQ Awareness Week. During this week, Anderson students took part in the Ally Pledge of solidarity with LGBTQ people, signed during the daily lunchtime Ally Rally by Dean Judy Olian and nearly 200 others at Anderson. Allies proudly added their signatures to a giant poster and wore an “I pledged” sticker. The school also held a moment of silence in honor of the National Day of Silence. Allies stood around the tree in the Anderson courtyard and joined hands in recognition of how society silences LGBTQ individuals.
Awareness Week at Anderson also coincided with UCLA’s campus wide observance. The week’s events were an open celebration of the achievements of LGBTQ people and the support they enjoy within the Anderson community. Participants also made Allies@Anderson T-shirts and Out@Anderson PROUD ALLY wristbands. For the week, pillars at UCLA Anderson’s Marion Anderson Courtyard were wrapped in rainbow colors to signify alliance with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer-Identified community.
Anderson holds these events to help increase the awareness of inequality and discrimination in the business community as well as create a safe and supportive place for students. Out@Anderson Co-President Devon Dickau said, “My personal goal is for every student to graduate from Anderson with the language, the knowledge and the tools to be an active and engaged ally to all marginalized communities, as professionals and as citizens.”
Dickau and the rest of the Out@Anderson group were pleased with the support that was shown on campus. “The outpouring of support from the Anderson community this week was incredible,” said Dickau. “Posts on social media. Participation in events and the side conversations I had throughout the week, individuals taking me aside and expressing genuine interest and excitement about our effort. I could not be happier with the success of our first-ever UCLA Anderson LGBTQ Awareness Week.”
About the Author
Erin Purcell
Staff Writer, covering MetroMBA's news beat for New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
