DePaul Pride events: Parade, roller-skating and more

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Creating welcoming spaces and events, Isis Walker has been DePaul’s LGBTQIA+ Resource Center program manager since 2022. This June, she and students are planning DePaul’s Pride events, including roller-skating on the roof of DePaul Center, marching in Chicago’s Pride Parade and the beloved annual drag show. Events are open to all—read on to learn more from Walker about the center and make plans for Pride.

This year, we are getting Pride Month started a day early with Lavender Graduation​ May 31. The event is open to anyone, both undergrad and grad, who identifies as LGBTQ and are graduating. Registration is required. We kick off Pride Week June 3 by handing out flags, treats and pronoun pins both on the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses. The next day, the resource center is partnering with the Office of Student Involvement and the other cultural and resource centers for a Loop Skate and Arcade Night. We are setting up a roller-skating rink on the 11th floor terrace of the DePaul Center, while inside will feature food, arcade games and a student DJ. Our spring drag show is set for June 5, and our Fruity Party, where we partner with DePaul Urban Gardeners to try different fruits, will wrap up Pride Week June 6.

It’s a really fun, supportive event, and I think it’s inspiring. Most of the performers at the show are current DePaul students, and for many of whom it’s the first time they’ve ever performed in drag. It takes a lot of courage to get up on stage and perform in drag in front of a crowd.

Yes! Anyone from the DePaul community, both LGBTQ members and allies, can join us in walking in the parade June 30. Register online here.

I want the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center to be a place queer students know about. I want to increase our visibility on campus so students who are queer know that there’s a space they can go where they don’t have to pretend, where they don’t have to be less or more of something to fit in, and where they can just exist authentically and have a space to talk about their experiences with others.

I’m also a member of the LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Network​, and one of my goals for the resource center is to provide a space to build queer community connections between students, faculty and staff. I want LGBTQ students to know that there are queer faculty and staff members across campus who want to connect and support them.

Faculty and staff who want to join the network can reach out to LGBTQnetwork@depaul.edu. We have monthly virtual support circles for faculty and staff to talk about their experiences. We don’t want anyone to feel isolated.

I’m super proud of how many events are student-created or led. I’m very open to student ideas for how the resource center can work for them.

DePaul’s cultural and resource centers are open to all students, regardless of if they’re part of the identities that the centers specifically serve. Our centers are a great opportunity to learn or try something new. Learning about other cultures is really fun. So, I encourage people who want to expand their horizons or expand their friend group to check out the cultural and resource centers and meet some new people.

Lastly, all of our LGBTQIA+ Resource Center events are posted to DeHub, and you can follow us on Instagram at LGBTQDePaul. We are located on the third floor of the O'Connell Building on the Lincoln Park Campus. For more about Walker, check out this Newsline profile from December 2022.