STATE COLLEGE, Pa — For the first time in State College, the borough will be having a Pride parade and festival coming this June. In the past, Pennsylvania State University has hosted events celebrating the LGBTQA community, but the downtown area has never seen a major event like this to celebrate Pride.

The Pride parade comes with the help of the Centre LGBTQA Support Network, and on Monday night, the State College borough council approved the downtown street closures and use of the park and plaza.

“Yes, this is a time for celebration, a time for action, but also a time for community-building and organizing. So, great we have a Pride parade now, but that's not the end all, be all for what needs to happen in State College. This is just another step along the path,” says Freddy Purnell, president of the LGBTQ roundtable at Penn State.

Those who are part of the LGBTQA community say the Pride parade means so much to them and seeing their college town accept everyone for who they are is powerful.

“Not a lot of people were able to express themselves in State College while they were here or fully express themselves at Penn State, or if they were, this was the first place they were able to do so,” Purnell says. “So there's a sentimental value that comes with where you went to college, and seeing that the city that surrounds your college is putting on an event that is specialized and tailored towards an aspect of your identity that’s often overlooked and that you often experience hate and violence for expressing, and they’re saying, ‘ Come here and be your true self, be unapologetically you and we will be unapologetically you with you,’ I think that says a lot.”

The parade will take place June 13 and will close off streets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Purnell deals directly with queer peers and says from his experiences interacting with them, many do not leave the State College area even after school lets out.

“What people fail to realize is that a lot of queer people, especially queer students, don't leave State College. Because of their identities, they can’t go home. Some people have been kicked out by their families. People moved here full time just because the community that they could go back home to is not an accepting one,” Purnell says.

For the 2019 year State College received a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index. The Pride parade means so much to not only the students, but also the people of the borough who are a part of the LGBTQA community.

“I think this is a big step for making sure we’re all showcased, we’re all celebrated to show that the borough cares about queer people,” Purnell says.

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