Recently, Kent School has made a small but noticeable change on campus: many adults, including teachers and other employees, are wearing either pink or blue pins on their jackets or lanyards and putting stickers on their office doors.
These signs represent their support of LGBTQ+ students: a blue pin means the person wearing it is an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, and a pink pin indicates the owner is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
This idea was proposed by Ms. Bermudez-Pires after her conversation with two students last spring term. Ms. Bermudez-Pires explained that it is hard for students to come out to their families sometimes due to cultural reasons, and she can totally relate to that. “It brought memories for me,” Ms. Bermudez-Pires said movingly. “I can see the sorrow in their eyes.”
Kent is an Episcopal school that has a belief that everybody is welcome. “The founder of the school, Father Sill, was a big believer in welcoming everybody,” Ms. Bermudez-Pires shared. “So Kent school is definitely an open community. We have a Pride Flag in the chapel, but coming up with this Kent-specific pride logo, which no other boarding schools has, can make our determination to support the LGBTQ+ community more obvious.”
The purpose of this change is to allow LGBTQ+ students to identify teachers who are part of the community or are allies, so students know who they can go to when they are confused or struggling, and they can gain help and guidance from an experienced grownup in this way; therefore, students in the community can feel safe, seen, and supportive.
“Once I presented my idea to Mr. Hall, the Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity, and other faculty members, everyone was so supportive,” said Ms. Bermudez-Pires. “People here are willing to help although they know having something out there to represent themselves and being open to students could make them vulnerable as well.”
For straight students, it is also an approach for them to realize we are all coming as a community. “I hope the straight students can see that not only their friends are gay but people that teach them or adults around them are part of the community too, so everybody can feel bonded together,” Ms. Bermudez-Pires said.
Though the pins and stickers are only for the grownups right now, Kent’s Pride affinity group is going to make pride logos for students soon.
Most of the Kent students are away from their homes, and adults here play roles as their parents. Through this change, Kent is hoping students who don’t feel comfortable coming out at home can feel safe here. “We are in 2023, and I don’t think it’s still the time that kids should hide themselves or feel alone in this transition of their lives,” Ms. Bermudez-Pires concluded seriously.
