Day: May 5, 2025

Spring 2025 Grinnell Rainbow Connections

Spring 2025

Veritas et Arcus Iris

A Note from Rainbow Alumni Leadership: Spring and Coming Out

As the Spring blossoms all around us in its colorful glory, our thoughts turn to new life and personal renewal. The process of Coming Out is one thing that unites us as a community, reflecting the rebirth of nature taking place this season. Even as we recognize our unique individuality–and as we face sometimes dangerous situations as individuals and as a community–we know that by coming together we can find a path forward in these chaotic times.

In the spirit of Spring, we’re excited to announce the first of what we hope is an annual Town Hall with President Anne F. Harris, focusing on developments in higher ed and issues related to the LGBTQIA+ community. Join us on May 13, 7:00 p.m. Central–details are below. At the end of March, Rainbow Alumni celebrated 2025’s Trans Day of Visibility with a little Drag Queen Bingo, and of course along with all the other alumni, we have just participated in Scarlet and Black Give Back Day, which raised nearly $2500 for the Rainbow Alumni Internship Fund. And soon it will be Pride season, when our volunteers will be sponsoring Ren-Gay-Vous in cities across the nation–this year look for events in DC, Chicago, Des Moines, LA, Denver, The Twin Cities, Salt Lake City, and more! (We will announce these parties on our GRA Discord server and by email, so stay tuned.) Looking for a reason to attend Reunion this year? Once again, we’re sponsoring the most exciting event of the weekend–Reunion 2025 Drag Show! So there’s a lot going on and it will be so good to be together in person.

In solidarity,
Phoebe Lostroh ‘94 (plostroh@gmail.com)
Rick Rose ‘88 (rick.rose@yahoo.com)
Co-Chairs, Grinnell Rainbow Alumni
On behalf of the entire Steering Committee

GRA Virtual Town Hall with President Anne F. Harris

Grinnell Rainbow Alumni is sponsoring what we hope will be an annual event: a Virtual Town Hall with President Anne F. Harris, Tuesday May 13, at 7 p.m. Central. Moderated by GRA co-chair Rick Rose ‘88, this town hall is a chance to engage with the college president, and hear firsthand her thoughts on the current tumultuous environment in higher ed, and the anti-LGBTQIA+ challenges the college faces.

Please register online by May 11 to participate; you can submit your thoughts and questions for consideration on the registration form, helping us guide the conversation and ensure the issues discussed are those most relevant to you. If you have questions about anti-trans legislation, state or federal attacks on high ed, or about the quality of life on campus for queer students–or any other topic relevant to our community–this is your chance to submit your concerns and hear the college’s response. (You can also register by calling 866-850-1846.)

A parallel virtual town hall will take place Thursday, May 8, 7 p.m. Central, and will be moderated by Langston Thomas ’20, of the Grinnell Black Alumni Network.

If you have any questions, contact Nino Parker ’07, director of alumni and donor relations for affinity programs, at parkerni@grinnell.edu.

Grinnell College Reunion 2025 Drag Show

Calling all fans of drag!    Pink My Little Pony graphic with Laurel Leaf logo on hip in front of a black, starry background with pink text

Anyone who attended last year’s reunion knows the highlight was the Reunion Drag Show. With hundreds of excited alumni packed into Harris Center Concert Hall, the show proved to be more exciting than anyone could have imagined.

GRA’s own Carly Jerome ‘11 is helping plan the 2025 Reunion Drag Show and is looking for volunteers from all classes (any takers from the 50th Reunion Class?). The theme is Welcome to the Pink Pony Club–inspired by the Chappell Roan song–and it’s going to be fabulous. All performers will receive up to $100 for makeup, costumes, etc., as reimbursement for helping to make this happen. Not up for going on stage? You can still help with lighting, sound, hair, makeup [so. much. makeup.], in the hall, or helping collect donations. Between cash and online donations, last year’s Drag Show raised over $13,000 for the Rainbow Alumni Scholarship Fund. For anyone interested in performing or volunteering, there’s a virtual Pink Pony Club Happy Hour and Volunteer Connection on Monday, May 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm CDT. To attend, or for more information, email Sarah Smith-Benanti at smithben@grinnell.edu. Or just register for Grinnell College Alumni Reunion 2025 online; Register before May 15 for lowest rates and guaranteed availability of meals and services.

Update on Campus Events

Grinnell’s Pride Week 2025 took place January 27-31 this year. TheScreenshot of long table with colorful table cloth and people sitting with Pride Week Recap in white font. Stonewall Resource Center presented a wide range of events this year, including:

    • Queer Stompede: Gay Country Dancing & Lessons
      • Preceded–naturally–by a Denim Dazzle Workshop 
    • QPOC Celebration Lunch
    • Joteria Game Night
    • Stonewall Pridefest–with games, prizes and food 

The week was capped off with the Covered in Melanin Drag Show in Harris, featuring six dazzling performers from The Legendary Blazing Saddle, a dance bar located in the East Village in Des Moines, Iowa. You can view a video Pride Week Recap, from Intercultural Affairs at https://www.facebook.com/reel/1615473562671844

P.S. Blast from the Past: 1987–Grinnell’s first (known) Pride Week.

Pink calendar page titled Gay Pride Week with various LGBTQ+ symbols and events listed.

Lavender Brunch Celebrates Graduating Queer Grinnellians

Grinnell College’s Lavender Brunch was held this last Saturday, April 26, celebrating the upcoming graduation of the Class of 2025. This year’s event was the largest to date, with nearly 80 attendees representing the full spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ campus community. This get-together, hosted by Sarah Smith-Benanti (photo below), was also a great chance for soon-to-be graduates to find out more about joining Grinnell Rainbow Alumni, which sponsored the event. Our hope is that each year, more graduates get in the habit of joining GRA before they even officially finish their studies, knowing that the community they were a part of on campus will continue, and that they’ll be welcome with open arms as an alum. Congratulations to them all!

Sarah Smith-Benanti speaking on a microphone at a podium to attendees seated in a light wood paneled room with large windows

Wider angle of Sarah Smith-Benanti speaking on a microphone at a podium showing several tables with attendees

Attendees posing in front of a sparkly, purple background with star accents

Top photo: Sarah Smith-Benanti, Associate Director of Alumni and Donor Relations for Diverse Communities addresses graduates; middle photo: nearly 80 attendees took part; bottom photo: l-r, Yessenia Álvarez Zamora ‘27; Micho Adler, Assistant Director of Intercultural Affairs, LGBTQIA+ Student Specialist; Jordan Reznick, Asst. Professor, American Studies; Fredo Rivera ‘06 , Asst. Professor, Art History; Sarah Smith-Benanti, DAR; Desmond Cortes ‘27–vamping it up at Lavender Brunch!. Photos: Conner Stanfield ‘21)

Grinnell Alumni Affinity Groups Expanding

Recently Grinnell added two new affinity groups: Connexiones, representing Grinnell’s Latinx/e Alumni, and the Grinnell Black Alumni Network. Read about the launch of both here and here. 

Hummingbird graphic in blues and purples with Conexiones in aqua font and Grinnell College logo in white against a purple background   White abstract bird graphic in front of a red, black, and green flag, with Grinnell Black Alumni Network in white font to the left and Grinnell College logo

News from Campus, and Extras

The Scarlet & Black
“Gender neutral bathrooms planned after years of student appeals” Construction in the Noyce Science Center to begin as soon as 2026. 

New From Iowa

Iowa passes bill stripping civil rights protections for transgender people, The Advocate reports. “The vote was 60-36 in the House and 30-15 in the Senate. It would make Iowa the first state to remove gender identity from antidiscrimination law and apparently the first state to remove any protected characteristic.”

Iowa State University students held a funeral April 2, 2025, in Ames Mock funeral procession with individuals dressed in black, outside in a wooded area carrying a black coffin with the LGBTQ+ flag atop marking the closure of the Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success (1992-2024). The Center was forced to close after the Iowa legislature stripped DEI funding (Senate File 2435) and removed trans-related civil rights. The story was covered locally by The Ames Tribune and nationally by The Advocate.

Kat Rohn ‘08, Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota (and one of GRA’s founders), and Chase Strangio ‘04, co-director of ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, wrote a moving op-ed in the Des Moines Register, lamenting the path Iowa has chosen by stripping gender identity from established civil rights laws, a national first. “Iowa shaped our lives. An anti-trans law broke our hearts, but we can’t give up.”

The Des Moines Register reports that In the November 2024 elections, Hiawatha elected Aime Wichtendahl Iowa’s first openly transgender lawmaker. “Her adjectives,” she says, “are: “freaking” and “awesome”.”

And Finally

Still down about 2024? Journalist Erin Reed has provided a list of victories and accomplishments for this last year you may have overlooked.

Register now for Reunion 2025, May 29-June 1

    • 70th Reunion: 1955
    • 60th Reunion: 1965-66
    • 50th Reunion: 1975
    • 40th Reunion: 1984-85
    • 35th Reunion: 1989-90-91
    • 25th Reunion: 2000
    • 15th Reunion: 2009-10-11
    • 10th Reunion: 2015
    • GRA/EY (Grinnell Reunion Any/Every Year)

Check out our LinkedIn page
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14483590/

    • Find a career connection
    • Discuss work issues related to your identity
    • Bounce ideas off alumni from across the generations
    • Grow your professional network 

What You Can Do Right Now

Looking for ways to get involved with Rainbow Alumni and help Grinnell? Here are a few suggestions:

    • Forward this email to a friend! Know someone who should get this newsletter and join the Rainbow Alumni? Forward it to them to help us spread the word.  
    • Volunteer! Have some fun and make new friends with Grinnellians from across the decades! Take the volunteer survey here. Committees looking for participants include Networking and Storytelling; Events; Communications and Outreach; and Fundraising.
    • Donate to support students!  We are currently focused on fully funding the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni Internship Fund. Use the pull-down menu to select the fund of your choice. 
    • Come to our next event. Reconnect to Grinnellians in your area or online. Regional events will take place during Pride Month in your area. Stay tuned for more information. 
    • Did a friend forward this email to you? Sign up as a member of the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni by submitting your email address here.