Members of LGBTQ+ awareness club True Colors participate in National Coming Out Day, stamping their handprints on a celebratory poster.
By: Maansi Maskai
With a diverse student population, MHS hosts a wide array of unique clubs and organizations that cater to specific interests and cultures. Recently, True Colors was added to extensive list of clubs and organizations that thrive at MHS.
True Colors aims to promote awareness and foster an acceptance of all sexualities and genders through annual shows and community service. Meetings are on Mondays in Room E04.
“We wanted to make this an inclusive club as much as possible, so we welcome anyone who is within the LGBTQ community and allies,” Secretary Xander Rico said. “We just wanted True Colors to be a space where people were able to show their true colors and their individuality,” he continued.
I saw the need for an inclusive, accepting space with many of my students, said Club Advisor Brett Webber. They needed a safe space in a place that reaffirmed and recognized their value, he added.
“We recently hosted National Coming Out Day [on October 11th] along with the help of ASB,” said Rico. “That was our first really big event; I’d say it went well.”
On National Coming Out Day, True Colors and ASB collaborated to present activities that aimed to foster acceptance and positivity across campus. True Colors distributed stickers to members of the MHS community, which allowed them to identify themselves with words such as “supporter,” “bisexual”, “gay,” “transgender,” and so forth.
“The major activity was to bring awareness of how difficult it is for many people to come out as gay, lesbian, trans, whatever they choose, whatever it is that they are,” Webber said. “It is a difficult process … and so to suddenly be identified, not only is it an internal process, but it’s also visible. The stickers are a visible sign,” continued Webber.
However, the stickers were not only for the LGBTQ community, said Webber. They were for the straight people as well to show that they can be supporters and allies too, he added.
“I think we probably distributed almost 2000 stickers,” said Webber. “That’s a tremendous success. We had teachers participate who helped us distribute; we had our members walking around with stickers,” Webber stated.
Sometime in the remaining school year, True Color plans to host a movie night at MHS, Secretary Xander Rico said. They are also working on securing t-shirts for club members and others that may want one, he added.
“True Colors is a space for everyone and we don’t only want to educate people about the LGBT community,” Rico stated. “We want to learn about everyone’s truth because everyone does have a truth and everyone’s story. Everyone is welcome to show their true colors.”