In 1984, what city became the first in the United States to extend domestic partnership benefits to lesbian and gay city employees? Stumped for the correct answer? Well, that would be the city of Berkeley, CA. On Wednesday Oct. 15, Student Diversity and CAP Board hosted LGBT Trivia night with text breakers. LGBT Trivia was a night filled with trivia questions about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, in the form of a game show.
“Text breakers” is an interactive game show that has the ability of bringing a presentation to life by using technology. While playing Pictionary, a player could draw their picture on an iPad, which was then fed wirelessly onto a large screen for all to see.
Once it was time to guess what the individual was drawing, members of the audience could actually text their guesses to a certain phone number, which then broadcasted the answers onto that same screen.
This trivia event was held as a part of Ally week, which was a week-long experience that included open mic night, GLAAD spirit day and numerous training sessions. These sessions were held to educate the members of the Cabrini community of LGBT and how to interact with students on campus who might belong to this community. Sessions such as ALLY 101 and ALLY 201 counted as LEADStrong credit, and they challenged the participants to stand up to preconceived concepts on sexuality and privilege, learn more about LGBT and gain understanding of the coming out process.
What exactly is an ally?
To Stephanie Reed, director of student diversity, belivie that an ally is an important individual on Cabrini’s campus.
“For me, I would see being an ally as someone who stands up for a person that you believe in their safety or giving them equal treatment, whether it’s about LGBT issues or anyone who needs assistance,” Reed said.
While planning an event such as this one, both CAP Board and Student Diversity wanted to make the night fun yet informational. Some of the present-day issues are blown up in the media, such as marriage equality rights and equal rights, so both clubs wanted to show the students what was really going on. “We wanted to pull in some of the pop cultural aspects that are more relevant to younger people who are out in their line of work, such as athletes or actresses, while merging two worlds of fun pop culture, LGBT issues and just having a good time while learning,” Reed said.
For junior CAP Board member, Brianna Ridgely, this event had a deeper meaning. “This event really showed me that everyone’s story and perception of life is different by the way that we think, feel and do,” said Ridgely. “Just like in the LGBT community, you have to embrace everyone’s different opinions and interests, whether it be what their favorite color is or who they choose to love.”
Whether attending the trivia night to gain a little more information on the LGBT community or to have some fun with friends, attendees left the event with both an open mind and heart.
