Club UNITY hosts Hooray! Day celebration on campus

By Alexandra Harvey | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Photos by Chrissy Makris

Club UNITY celebrated Hooray! Day on the West Lawn for the second consecutive year last Thursday.

“It’s a day all about celebration, awareness, education and unity,” said Chris Lauth, Executive Director and founding member of Club UNITY.

Lauth considers the fact that Club UNITY exists and is able to celebrate Hooray! Day an accomplishment in itself. Controversy surrounded the club’s inception at Flagler College, so Lauth and other club members said they appreciate every event they are able to host.

Previously held in the spring, Club UNITY moved this year’s Hooray! Day to Sept. 24 to align it more closely with St. Augustine’s Pride Month, as sponsored by Ancient City Pride. ACP, a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender organization, had a booth at Hooray! Day.

Hooray! Day’s feature attraction was the Gay American Heroes Memorial.

“We’re really lucky to have the Gay American Heroes Memorial,” Lauth said. “It travels all around, and has been to schools like Yale and Harvard.”

The memorial showcases about 20 pictures of GLBT hate crime victims. The victims’ ages range from 15 to 69. The traveling memorial honors those who have been killed because of their sexual orientation.

Club UNITY also put together a “’90s Dance and Pool Party” later in the evening at the campus pool. Partygoers danced to 90’s hits like the Macarena and sipped on “mock-tails” by the pool.

Club UNITY is keeping a busy event schedule for the rest of the semester as well. October is GLBT History Month and Lauth said Club UNITY plans to host events to increase awareness and education.