On October 27th, the student led club Cabrini Spectrum, a LGBTQIA+ campus organization, held an Outfest event in The Grill at the Widener center.
What is Outfest?
According to Galaeiqbipoc.org, Outfest, which is also now known as OURfest, is held in Philadelphia and is known as the largest National Coming Out Day event. Throughout this event there are festivals/fairs, and a parade. These events take place in the streets of Philly.
According to a Spectrum, this event was to celebrate national Coming Out Day, October 11th, and LGBTQIA+ History Month. This event included activities such as: painting pumpkins, playing board games, bracelet making and competing in LGBTQIA+ trivia.
Spectrum President Kendall Trumbore, a senior double major in graphic design and design management, said, “Outfest is an annual thing, but takes a new iteration every year. Each year the date changes and we decided this year, since it is a weird time on campus, to align it with Halloween to make it more fun.”
Executives of Spectrum
Thumbore has been the president of Spectrum for two years. She said, ” I am carrying the torch from precious executive board members. The existence of Spectrum, as its current iteration, has been for about five or six years.” The types of events that Spectrum throws are able to be executed with the help from the three executive board members on Spectrum, along with SEaL and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
Senior Leah Jones is a first-year member of Spectrum and is vice president. This is also the first group she joined on campus. She said, “Events like these are new to me, but I do like to see all the work that Kendall puts into this. Seeing all the people, even if it is just to grab a snack, it is nice to see people somewhat show up.”
Community on campus
Unfortunately, due to Cabrini’s current circumstances, student club engagement has been down. Thumbore said “In previous years at the involvement fair we were getting 30 or 40 people signing up. This year we had around 10 and events have been a lot smaller.” She added, “I do wish that we had the resources and the time to expand the club some more to have a larger impact on campus.”
Jones said while she “loved” the event she, ” wished more people showed up, but that is sort of the vibe on campus. Hopefully the next event more people show up.”
Carrying on
Despite the smaller number of members, Spectrum is still trying to make their presence known on campus. Thumbore said, “students have used this club as an opportunity to connect and hang out. Right now, we are focusing more on community and our small efforts.”
Jones also made it known that anyone can join Spectrum. She said, “Anyone who wants to get informed or even just want to be involved in a community is welcome.” She also added, “This is our last chance to get involved in anything and we should take advantage of the good things Cabrini gives us.”
To keep in touch with all things Spectrum, all events are advertised on their Instagram page: @Cabrini.Spectrum
