More than a thousand BYU students — including LGBTQ students, friends and allies — gathered at Joaquin Park for what some are calling BYU’s first unofficial Pride march.
The crowd gathered at the park for speeches and instructions before marching to Kiwanis Park only blocks from the Latter-day Saint-owned campus, where they sang along and danced to the music of Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.
The police blocked the traffic for the marchers, who were asked to stay on the sidewalk and obey the traffic signals on their march. There were rumors that there would be counter-protesters, but the march was peaceful.
A marcher named Kendra said that there was no BYU pride account on social media, so her and event organizers started an account and posted the information on the march not expecting to get a very big crowd.
“We are here [in Provo and BYU] and we are proud to be here to show support for people that are in a hard place and in a weird situation with their sexuality,” she said.
In March, BYU students help a demonstration on its campus and lit the “Y” in rainbow colors to mark the anniversary of when the university clarified that same-sex romantic behavior is “not compatible” with its rules.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) More than a thousand BYU students, friends and allies dance to Lady Gaga, during a Pride March from Joaquin Park to Kiwanis Park, in Provo, on Monday, June 28, 2021.
