Club Corner: Pride club becomes a safe space for many students on campus
Several Pride Club posters hang in the school halls showing when and where the club meets.
December 3, 2021
Junior Jiszelle Arana decided to support the LGBTQ+ community by joining the Pride Club.
“I joined this club because I support it and I want to be a part of it,” Arana said. “I joined in freshman year but then COVID happened, although I wanted to come back. I feel pretty good about this club because everyone is really kind.”
At times, school can be rough for any student but it can be even harder for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning youth or those perceived as LGBTQ+. Daniel Pearl Magnet High School is a safe school for students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. School social worker Joanne Tuell is the one who organized Pride Club for the LGBTQ+ students, staff, faculty, as well as non-student community members. The Pride Club meets on Mondays in the second courtyard, in front of room five.
“I chose to sponsor this club because when I started here five years ago, it was very important to our former principal Mrs. Smith and I love working with the LGBTQ+ community,” Tuell said. “I love the energy of the students and I want to create a safe place on campus for all students to hang out.”
Junior Naamah Silcott is the president of Pride Club this year. They have many reasons they became president, including making sure everyone feels welcome and feels safe on campus.
“I think it’s because the school is so small, it’s like we are much more open of how people feel and of who they are,” Silcott said. “A lot of people are friends with each other so it’s kind of turned into a hangout community type of thing.”
Students can join the Pride Club even though they are not part of the LGBTQ+ community. Some students started to feel a bit lonely so they decided to join the Pride Club and they started to make friends.
“I joined this club because I started getting lonely at lunch and so my mom thought it would be a good idea to socialize with people,” junior Reya Waddell said. “I love the club because it’s a wonderful, inclusive and an amazing place for people who want to hang out even though you are not part of the community.”
