The Daily Gamecock

Spirit Day aims to advocate against LGBTQ+ bullying

On Wednesday, the Department of Multicultural Student Affairs held its first Spirit Day. Organized by assistant director for LGBTQ+ education Caroline Wallace, the event aimed to encourage the USC community to speak out against LGBTQ+ bullying.

Spirit Day was first organized in 2010 by Brittney McMillian, a Canadian teenager, as a response to the bullying related suicides of gay school students that same year. McMillian created the event to boost the confidence of LGBT individuals. The event is promoted by GLAAD and encourages communities to wear purple in support of LGBTQ+ youth.

"Originally, in theory, it was talk about K12 schools but there's certainly a lot of overlap between K12 and higher education," Wallace said. "We want to acknowledge that they are people on our campus who were bullied and also talk about the bullying that can happen on our campus."

In 2013, a study done by the National School Climate Survey showed that 74.1% of LGBTQ+ students were verbally bullied and 55.2% because of their gender expression. 

Second-year English student Abbie LaGrand said she has unfortunately witnessed bullying targeted toward the LGBTQ+ community on campus.

"I went to the Pete Buttigieg rally when he was here and there were guys screaming 'MAGA! F--!' and stuff like that," LaGrand said. "In that sense that's when I felt very uncomfortable and very aware that I am still at a school in the south." 

LaGrand said that she was a part of a LGBTQ+ positive club at her high school, and it helped her overcome trauma that stemmed from bullying when she was in middle school. 

"That was when I really started to feel that acceptance and really coming to terms with who I was," LaGrand said. "I was surrounded by other girls and other guys that felt the same way, that felt like they just needed that place of love and we were providing that space of love for them." 

Wallace has worked with LGBTQ+ students for about two years as a faculty member at USC. She was also an undergraduate and graduate student at the university, and was involved in LGBTQ+ advocacy and educational work during her time here. 

"We're always looking at ways that we can talk about the different conversations that happen within the LGBTQ community, and in more ways, that's why we wanted to do Spirit Day this year, even though we've never done it before, to have a new conversation," Wallace said. 


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