True Colors is a club on campus dedicated to educating about and being a welcoming space for the LGBTQ+ community. The club was founded at MHS in 2018 and has operated for 4 years..
True Colors President Jazmine Finuliar (she/they) has been a member of the club since her freshman year when the club was founded.
“[True Colors’] overall goal is to dismantle the stigma that surrounds the [LGBTQ+] community, because I know that we’re more progressive as a society in Milpitas particularly, but there’s still a presence of homophobia in high school environments,” Finuliar said in an interview. “A lot of people say things that are pretty baseless and they just echo it because that’s what they hear and that’s what they think is cool, like part of the slang, but really, there’s a lot of background to it. There’s a lot of history behind it that really oppressed our community, and so we’re trying to educate others on that.”
True Colors is a very active club on campus, doing activities that not only include their members, but the entire student body. October 11 is National Coming Out Day, and True Colors has made it a tradition to provide students with rainbow stickers where they can share their own identity or show support for others, Finuliar said.
But all the other days of the year are scattered with events too. “I’d say [my favorite activity has been] the homecoming parade in 2019,” Finuliar said. There was a lot of energy there, and just hanging out with everybody made me feel so welcomed. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt more like myself, in any type of club activity, so I’d say that’s one of my fondest memories.”
Even if you are not part of the LGBTQ+ community, it is important to be a supportive ally.
Finuliar shared some advice on how to do just that: “I’d say first start off with their peers—those close around them,” Finuliar said. “Hear them out if they ever come out to you or say ‘hey, you know, this is who I identify as, please respect that.’ You have to stand by them,” they said. “At least hear them out; show that you’re there to listen to them. And then from there on out, learn more about the community they’re in, because this is your peer. Know who they are, and get a broader perspective of that identity.”
True Colors is a very welcoming environment, Finuliar said. Meetings feel like hanging out with friends, even though everyone learns a lot, she added.
“I’d like to give a shoutout to Mr. Webber and Ms. Sammy as well, because, without them, our club wouldn’t really have a presence,” Finuliar said. “Their advocacy has helped our club, and, especially me, feel reassured that there’s someone on campus that just supports them. Because I know a lot of LGBTQ+ children, they’re kind of scared to come out to their parents, because of all those traditional values that they hold. So they see that there’s an adult that they can trust with coming out, which is something that takes a lot of courage, but is something that should be normalised. The fact that there’s someone there that understands them in that way, that’s what I really like about our club.”
