Saint Mary's Sexuality and Gender Equity Club (SAGE), LGBTQ+ Center and Department of Gender and Women's Studies co-hosted the annual SAGE Stories, an event Wednesday where students and faculty were invited to perform anonymous stories submitted virtually in response to the prompt: “What is your experience of being LGBTQ+ at Saint Mary’s College?”
Eli Williams, assistant director of the LGBTQ+ Center, first went onstage to introduce the event, which took place in SMC's Little Theatre.
“This format of anonymous true stories read by supportive volunteers is a well-established tradition in our community,” Williams said.
She spoke on the establishment of anonymous storytelling event Vagina Monologues in the early 2000s, which inspired the creation of Michiania Monologues in South Bend with the co-sponsorship of Saint Mary's. She shared that this event raised over $80,000 for “local organizations that support survivors, women, BIPOC individuals and LGBTQ+ people.”
She also noted that Come Out Michiana, a similar project produced in South Bend, contributed to the amending of the South Bend Human Rights Ordinance to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
The production featured a total of 21 stories performed by students and faculty. These stories were reviewed for inclusion by a committee that ultimately decided to include them all for equal representation and inclusion.
Two microphones were arranged onstage for readers to perform, whether solo or in larger groups. The first story included five speakers addressing the question: “What does it mean to be a Belle?”
A range of story topics were presented, covering the reversal of allowing transgender applicants at the College, the experience of harassment and discrimination as an LGBTQ+ individual, the complex relationship between being queer and religious and the process of finding an LGBTQ+ community and space.
“Being a Belle means being gay, being closeted, being homophobic, being hateful, being loved. Being hate. Being love,” read one of the readers.
Several workshops were held for both students and faculty to refine their writing prior to production. These workshops were often held in groups to promote discussion between the writers, inspired by the layout of the Michiana Monologues.
“We did two for SAGE, we did one focusing on queer students of color [and] we did another one with faculty and staff,” Williams said. “Sometimes we had five people, but the things people shared were beautiful … This wasn’t just a production about one night, it was a long-term community building effort that we worked on over the course of this entire semester.”
On the event's purpose, Williams shared, “We want to highlight the diversity of experiences we have here at Saint Mary’s. Every story was really different and some of them you could hear similarities, but I think we showed the diversity of our student body today and that was our goal.”
“We want Saint Mary’s to be a place where everyone feels welcome and I hope by sharing some of our stories and giving people an opportunity to listen that we’re towards that goal,” she continued.
Any student or faculty member could sign up to be a reader. On her decision to participate, Katie Whitlow, assistant professor of biology, said, “I think it's really important to support all of our students, and the SAGE stories event was a powerful way to show support for the LGBTQ+ community,” noting that they face unique barriers.
Junior Kaeli Rinken shared that she spoke to further her own journey but also to encourage others. “For me, personally... it just feels very empowering. For some people who don't feel like they can speak for themselves, I think being able to help them with that and share their own stories is something super cool,” Rinken said.
Graduate student Olivia Pandolfi, outreach coordinator of SAGE, reflected on the rehearsal process of being a reader and seeing the support from others who participated.
“It was so nice to see the whole community together. There were more stories and more readers than I would have thought and expected … To see how many people truly care, [who] want to be an ally and show up is awesome,” Pandolfi said.
Williams shared hopes that the production allowed students and faculty to feel more comfortable within the College and further supported within their identity.
“I hope that they see the beauty of our community, that they have a place here and they’re not alone … You’re not the only one that feels this way. There are a lot of people out there that care about you, that love you and want you to be a part of this community,” Williams said.
Later in the spring, LGBTQ+ seniors will have the chance to be recognized at the College’s first lavender graduation ceremony.
