Malden High strives to create a safe environment for students to take pride in their unique identities. The pride flag-raising has been celebrated at Malden High for four years. The event started in 2018 but was stumped due to COVID. This is the fourth year the community of Malden High has celebrated each others’ differences.
Some people were decorated head to toe in pride attire, showing how they embrace their identity. This is how Malden High strives to achieve individuality within the community. “I like that students feel welcomed enough in our school community to show their faces at the event,” stated Jean Jones, the Rainbow Lion Club advisor.
“My favorite part was everyone coming together and celebrating the flag-raising,” said freshman Naomi Yohannes. This celebration creates unity at MHS because it is one of the only times when people come together to celebrate each other. “Even if you did not want to go outside you could see how everyone came together, which is one of the things that I appreciate about going to this school,” expressed freshman Maverick Araujo.
The event was held on May 29th during Advisory. It included music related to LGBTQ+ identities, such as “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. The Malden High Band Team made a special appearance and played in order to show their support to the LGBTQ+ community. Popsicles were also being sold to battle against the beaming sun. All these components made the flag raising far better than expected. “I thought the raising would be boring and people would just be giving speeches, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was quite enjoyable,” freshman Jeremiah Hauptman Johnson commented.
“I enjoy working with the students who are in the club. Everything about the event kind of comes from them,” described Jones. The flag-raising event would not be what it is without the students in the Rainbow Lions Club. This club is a Gender Sexuality Alliance so anyone is welcome; you can identify with some part of the LGBTQ+ community, or you can just be an ally.
One event, which happened earlier this year that showcased support of the LGBTQ+ community was the Day of Silence on April 12th. This was a peaceful protest where teachers and students who support the LGBTQ+ take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBTQ+ students. Another event was the Rainbow Lions bake sale which sold Tanghulu, Northern Chinese candied fruit snacks.
We hope the tradition of the pride flag raising continues to support the students without needing to hide or be silent.
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