LGBSA kicks off Pride Week

The 12th annual celebration will focus on increasing support for and visibility of lesbians, gays and bisexuals.

Rallies, mixers and conferences will be only a small part of the celebration when the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance kicks off its 12th Annual Pride Week today.

The festivities, which run through March 26, are designed to raise support and pride in the community, said Steve McCann, social and educational co-director of the alliance.

"The purpose of the week is to show visibility, support and pride in the gay community," he said.

Pride Week is important because there are 51 other weeks of the year where these goals are hardly recognized, McCann said.

"I feel this week accomplishes the goals, but it is only one week of the year," he said.

The theme this year is "We Are Family," said Jessica Shive, social/educational co-director of LGBSA. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are a family as well as part of the family of the world, she explained.

"We as LGB people are a family ourselves," Shive said. "But we are also your neighbors, your daughters, your parents. We're a part of your family in all senses of the word."

A rally at noon today on the steps of Schwab Auditorium will kick off the events. There will be a mixer at 5 p.m. in the HUB Reading Room followed by an information session on "How to be an Ally" at 7 p.m. An ally is a friend to the lesbian, gay and bisexual community.

The rally is held every year, McCann said, but this year there will be some new additions to the celebration, including a conference on Saturday.

From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., there will be conferences held in the HUB on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues ranging from "Homophobia in Sports" to "Suicide in the LGB Community."

More than 50 students from schools such as the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Boston University have registered for the conference.

"I'm excited to see these people from different campuses, to have them come and participate," said Nicki Hamilton-Smith, political committee chair of LGBSA.

Hamilton-Smith said she cannot wait for the week to begin.

"I'm fabulously excited," she said.