Snow College Pride Club hosts

campus event celebrating

National Coming Out Day

By Max Higbee

Staff writer

Oct. 19, 2017

EPHRAIM—Following the example of the massive LoveLoud Music Festival in Orem last August, which was headlined by Imagine Dragons and had received a statement of support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gay students and straight allies gathered together on Snow College’s Heritage Plaza to celebrate National Coming Out Day 2017.

The Snow College Pride Club, a student club that serves as the campus LGBT resource center, sponsored the event. The club had previously hosted an ice cream social earlier in the year.

Members of the Pride Club were instrumental in the installation of six all-gender bathrooms across campus.

“We just seek to create a really accepting atmosphere,” says Monica Peterson, the faculty advisor for the Pride Club who is also an English as a Second Language professor at Snow. “It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight, we’d love to have you around. It’s about building bridges.”

Students helped themselves to cookies and hot chocolate while listening to live music and speaking interludes from Pride Club members.

Elijah Hancock, a former Snow College student who studied as a vocalist, returned to campus to speak about his life experience and play original songs.

AneUnhu and the Arguably Better Musicians played their debut set. They went on this week to win the Rock On for the Red Cross Battle of the Bands.

Michael Morrise, a music student at Snow College, played piano and sang original songs and covers.
Snow College’s Commercial Music Ensemble closed the show with a half-hour set including such songs as ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” and “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles.