Photo By: Em Maxey
Em Maxey ~ Assistant Editor
University of Lynchburg was co-sponsored the third Hill City Pride held on Sept. 3rd, 2022 in Downtown Lynchburg at Riverfront Park.
High temperatures and humidity did not stop the festivities, University of Lynchburg faculty, students, and alumni showed their support for LGBTQ+ members in the community and on campus.
Lynchburg almuna Maya Patterson said, “I expected it to be a very welcoming and accepting environment where everyone could belong regardless of gender or sexuality. Hill City Pride definitely met those expectations.”
Trigg Anderson, a senior at the university said, “I think it’s cool that the university supports a community event that’s largely about people getting to be themselves and celebrating progress. I’m also glad it was so easy for me to attend.”
“It means a lot to me because it’s good to see the University as well as the city of Lynchburg support the LGBTQ+ community. Growing up as a queer youth in Lynchburg was a bit challenging for me, and now I am glad to see that the current and future generations can be accepted. It also shows that UL is holding up to their diversity and inclusion beliefs outside of campus,” says Patterson.
The heat had many event goers hoping for more free access to water. Nasiyah Ivory, a sophomore at the University, voiced her concerns about the lack of hydration stations because of the heat. Ivory says even though the event was free, very few of the sponsored stands were handing out free cold drinks, or even water.
Sophomore, Jayla Bullock and Ivory both were hoping to see more business cards to continue support for vendors outside of the event.
To find out more about vendors, sponsors, and other ways to get involved go to hillcitypride.org
