{"id":23178,"date":"2023-06-30T14:51:42","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T18:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2023\/06\/30\/event-celebrates-neccs-lgbtqia-community-and-allyship\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T11:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:33:08","slug":"event-celebrates-neccs-lgbtqia-community-and-allyship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/06\/30\/event-celebrates-neccs-lgbtqia-community-and-allyship\/","title":{"rendered":"Event Celebrates NECC\u2019s LGBTQIA+ Community and Allyship\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAllyship is about promise, not perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Essex Community College Chief Officer of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Francellis\u00a0Quinones\u00a0shared those words recently at the college\u2019s inaugural \u201cCelebrating Ourselves and Each Other\u201d luncheon. The event, held on June 28 on the Haverhill Campus, gathered dozens of faculty and staff to celebrate NECC\u2019s LGBTQIA+ community and to provide a forum to share some of the social justice issues related to the community, as well as the importance of courageous allyship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

“Celebrating Ourselves and Each Other\u201d luncheon<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe have an opportunity, and an obligation, to act to maintain higher education as a location for LGBTQIA+ student development and learning, as well as to improve campus climate and increase inclusion,\u201d remarked Quinones. \u201cThat\u2019s where allyship comes in. Allyship is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several campus leaders shared their personal stories, including Liberal Arts Dean Amy Callahan. She recalled a time when she had to withdraw her name from consideration for a faculty position at a private institution because she would have been forbidden to talk openly about being a lesbian.<\/p>\n

“They wanted me to sign a paper that made me promise not to be gay,\u201d remembered Callahan. \u201cI\u2019ve been aware over the years that there are certain places where it was not safe to be out…but I\u2019ve always made a point of being out at work. And I have consciously avoided places where I was not welcome. Being out is worth it and rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Provost Paul Beaudin shared his experiences dealing with bullies and living through the early days of the AIDS epidemic in New York City as a gay man. He reflected that, though many of the fears he had during those years have subsided, recent events like book bans and attacks on drag performers have brought new concerns to light.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not afraid, but I am more concerned in my sixties than I was in my forties and fifties,\u201d he said. \u201cI am concerned\u2026.because, in some states, diversity, equity, and inclusion is being stripped from the curriculum, because in some cities, drag entertainers can now be arrested for performing on public streets, because in some school districts, LGBT children no longer enjoy the safety and protection in school that was somewhat recently afforded them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Essex Community College President Lane Glenn captured Dr. Beaudin\u2019s speech, and his own reflections, in a recent post in his Running the Campus blog. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The NECC Center for Equity and Social Justice’s (CESJ) \u201cCelebrating Ourselves and Each Other\u201d initiative\u202fstrives to enhance the NECC community by\u202fcreating experiences that help\u202ffoster respect and open-mindedness. It supports building bridges between NECC and the community and helps students, faculty, and staff, as well as the surrounding communities, build a sense of belonging.\u202f\u202fThe luncheon event was arranged jointly by the CESJ and the Student Affairs division and supported by a grant from the Million Dollar Roundtable Foundation<\/a> under their Global Grants Program.<\/p>\n

For more information on the NECC Center for Equity and Social Justice, contact Francellis Quinones<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAllyship is about promise, not perfection.\u201d Northern Essex Community College Chief Officer of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Francellis\u00a0Quinones\u00a0shared those words recently at the college\u2019s inaugural \u201cCelebrating Ourselves and Each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":23179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[380],"class_list":["post-23178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-and-staff","category-events","tag-lgbtqia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEvent Celebrates NECC\u2019s LGBTQIA+ Community and Allyship\u00a0 - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/06\/30\/event-celebrates-neccs-lgbtqia-community-and-allyship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Event Celebrates NECC\u2019s LGBTQIA+ Community and Allyship\u00a0 - 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