For the first time in Marlborough’s history, Pride Week was implemented during the last week of April for the 2025-26 school year. Alliance, Marlborough’s LGBTQIA+ affinity group, collaborated with Transcend, Marlborough’s transgender affinity group, to create the inaugural Pride Week.

Piper ’27, Avery ’27 and Ellie ’26, the leaders of Alliance, as well as Rhonie ’27 and Nex ’26, the leaders of Transcend, first had the idea during the council leadership summit in August. Once the school year started, they worked with Director of Equity, Community and Belonging Kelly Jackson to select a week to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, since Pride Month occurs in June, once school is out.

In addition to a Pushing Perspectives about gender identity from Julie Galles, the Founding Head of Chrysalis Academy, a school centered around LGBTQIA+ students, the leaders planned activities such as capture the flag, dodgeball and musical chairs to mirror the lively energy of Spirit Week.

“Our intentions for having fun activities was to help create a stronger sense of community at Marlborough, especially within the queer space,” Piper said. “We realize that while Alliance and Transcend are well-known affinity groups, people are more hesitant to interact with them for a multitude of reasons, and we wanted Campus Pride Week to be a time for visibility and community outreach, but also a time to focus on the community at Marlborough and just help people have fun and enjoy themselves.”

Additionally, throughout the week, students donated clothes to the Trans Wellness Center. At the end of the week, each grade’s donation was weighed and whoever had the greatest amount would win a free dress day. Students assembled kits with snacks and hygiene products to donate to the Los Angeles LBGT Center. Similar to Spirit Week, the standings were updated every day based on participation and donations to encourage engagement.

Students responded positively to Pride Week, with the hope that it will continue long into the future.

“For me, participating in Pride Week activities, particularly the kit making, made me feel a sense of joy in being able to help queer kids like me who are in much tougher situations,” Naomi ’30 said.

It was important for the student leaders of Alliance and Transcend to start this tradition, as Marlborough’s LGBTQIA+ community isn’t explicitly celebrated during school events led by affinity groups. The leaders are excited to continue this tradition for many years to come and pave the way for the next Marlborough generation.

“We started Campus Pride Week with the hope that it will continue on in tradition even long after we graduate,” Rhonie said. “Especially in times like these, supporting and uplifting the queer community is more important than ever, and the opportunity we have as a school to make an impact simply can’t be ignored.”