Picture taken by Zeyu Zhao ’27.
Brie Foster ’27
Staff Writer
On Feb. 2, 2024, the Mount Holyoke College Queer Action Collective, also known as QAC, hosted an event titled “Queer Activism at MHC Through the Years” to inform students of the history of queer activism at Mount Holyoke. At this event, QAC produced a presentation, facilitated discussion amongst participants, and invited Mount Holyoke alum Donna Albino ’83 to speak on her experiences.
Participants were first greeted with copies of archived photos and promotional materials for old queer activism groups’ meetings and events. One featured a picture of a sign on a couch that read, “1 in 10 of you may be 1 of us.” Another displayed a marker-written promotional from 1990 that read, “Meeting to discuss homophobia and demands of admin. Wednesday, 28 Feb., upstairs balcony, 10 p.m. Blanchard.”
The board members of QAC took turns presenting their collective research on the history of queer activism at Mount Holyoke. Employing archived accounts, documents, and newspaper contributions from the 1970s to 2014, the board utilized several artifacts to outline their presentation.
Following their presentation on historical queer activism at Mount Holyoke, alum Albino spoke about her time at the college and the accounts of other alums. Albino also shared her experience with the current queer support in Mount Holyoke Lyon’s Pride, Mount Holyoke’s queer alums group. Participant Elysse Britt ’27 told the Mount Holyoke News, “QAC’s incorporation of a queer alum in narrating the history of queer activism on campus made my heart swell with the beautiful display of longevity in the face of challenge.”
The event concluded by allowing participants to share what they hope to see in the future of queer activism at the college, as well as potential events that they would like to attend. QAC Treasurer Lily Rood ’27 told the Mount Holyoke News, “I believe that our community has the ability to build movement power by constructively engaging our histories. When we familiarize ourselves with the past, we can grow our capacity for positively impacting the future.” With the event’s conclusion focused on the future, Rood explained, “In this event, we wanted to bring to the forefront narratives of the queer past at Mount Holyoke College, and we wanted to do so in such a way as to empower thoughts, dreams, and actions for a queer future at MHC. By bringing historical artifacts, documents, and stories to present students, we were able to accomplish those goals.”
As she reflected on what the future holds for queer activism at Mount Holyoke, Rood said, “As I spoke to at the event, I see the immediate future of queer activism at MHC as one that must focus significant energies and resources on the goal of more wholly and intersectionally welcoming transgender people, and particularly transfeminine people as well as non-women, at MHC.” Rood continued, “In both the short and long terms, I hope to see an MHC whose students, faculty, staff, alums, and community partners are all aligned in the pursuit of collective liberation for intersectionally identifying people from every background.”
As QAC events and general queer activism on campus continue, Rood expressed hope that "students left the event feeling excited for what comes next in making MHC a place where all queer people can thrive.” Rood also hopes that “students [feel] a strong sense of community as we seek to practice community care at all of our QAC events.”
Editor’s Note: At the time of reporting, Lily Rood went by a different first name. This article was updated Aug. 9 at 1:44 p.m. EST to reflect her change in name.