The Bridge is Colby’s all-inclusive queer and ally community. We aim to establish a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment, while helping to raise the visibility of LGBTQ issues. The Bridge is open to any student who is interested in supporting and being a part of the LGBTQ and ally community on campus.  Pride Week is a unique opportunity to showcase and celebrate our community and to highlight the challenges we face as queer and ally students on Mayflower Hill. While shame can frequently drive away all sorts of difference at Colby, our goal as leaders is to be proud of who we are and who we love. Though we always seek to turn the tide of shame and secrecy in favor of being loud and proud, this week offers an especially bright opportunity to reshape this school. It is okay to feel uncomfortable this week; many things, like rainbows, glitter and drag queens may be new and overwhelming. This week, we hope to push the boundaries of what is accepted and what is normal on this campus, and we encourage you to challenge yourself as we challenge ourselves.

Pride has always been a time for joy, laughter, and dancing; around the world people celebrate who they are in public with no shame and no stigma. At Colby our goal is just like that of our brothers and sisters around the globe. However, this is also a time to acknowledge some of the shortcomings of our community. In particular, we must think critically about homophobic acts of hate and vandalism on our campus. We, the Steering Committee of the Bridge, are embarrassed by the tardy and tepid responses to incidents of hate, bias and bigotry here at Colby.  Words are a reflection of attitudes, attitudes inform campus culture, and campus culture determines how safe and welcome people feel. Homophobic language and vandalism have no place here or anywhere, and if we can’t create a safe, accepting community here, where can we?  From admissions to alumni affairs, and everyone in between, Colby needs to be open, safe and respectful. We live in a bubble, and when we pollute that bubble, the effect is magnified immensely. We can, and must do better. Whether intentional, or habitual, homophobic language and actions need to be eradicated. Unless we can collectively take this most basic of first steps, Colby will never live up to its full potential.

As an entirely student-run organization, the Bridge is among the most active groups on campus. We are more than a club; we are a programming board, a social network, a support group and a community of passionate activists. We hold public events as varied as dances, movie nights, conferences at home and away, speakers, film screenings, discussions and even lectures with porn stars.  This year alone, we planned and hosted a leadership conference of 75+ LGBTQ student leaders from colleges around New England; brought in collaboration with PCB Rose Troche, writer and director of "The L Word" and “Go Fish;” orchestrated a photo exhibit of openly LGBTQ athletes, and a talk by the artist; and of course planned and executed the smattering across campus that is Pride Week. Additionally, we’ve worked with organizations such as Equality Maine, volunteered in local schools for LGBTQ youths and held campus-wide dances, like the upcoming Drag Ball, on Friday, April 15. In all that we do, we aim to increase the visibility and prominence of LGBTQ students and their concerns on campus and beyond.

But, there is too much work to be done on this campus for us to continue on alone. We’ll be impressed if you can name more than one LGBTQ program this year that did not come from the Bridge or its members. This is a problem, as no underrepresented demographic should be responsible for educating the larger population. We know that queer students are a minority at Colby, but that does not mean that we do not deserve the resources and administrative support we need to succeed. However, a simple increase in programing is not enough.

We are experiencing structural neglect. For all of our strengths, passions, and successes we are hardly equipped to address issues of admissions and retention, mental health, and responding to bias incidents. Until you look at the services provided by all of our peer schools, you might not notice what we lack. Beyond programming there exists an entire level of institutional support that is missing. From Orientation to graduation this college can and should do more. We are optimistic and look forward to working with the College to realize the goals laid out in the proposal for a new Gender and Sexual Diversity Resource Center, as presented to Senior Staff and Trustees last week.
Colby is good place for many people, but this does not change the fact the we must all, everyday, strive to be better. In recent years, this community has shown tremendous growth and change on issues of multicultural affairs. We are proud of the solidarity and support that we have received in our tenure here as students, and we sincerely hope that you will take this week to reflect on how you have contributed (or can contribute) to making Colby a safer place for all people.

Sincerely,
The Bridge Steering Committee