Veritas et Arcus Iris
A Note from Rainbow Alumni Leadership:
For quite a while now, the news has been disheartening to say the least, with headlines that seem to carry a constant weight. Between social media that has us doomscrolling and a 24-hour news cycle that we can never truly turn off, it can feel overwhelming to take in day after day after day. In times like this, it becomes easy to feel isolated and discouraged. Yet, it’s precisely during moments like this that community matters most. Turning toward one another, whether through small conversations, shared meals, or collective action, reminds us that we are not alone. Community doesn’t erase the difficulties, but it softens its edges, offering support, perspective, and even moments of lightheartedness that break through the heaviest of days.
Resistance comes in many forms, and one of my favorites is joy. It’s about choosing to nurture joy despite everything. It’s found in laughter that feels a little rebellious, in creativity that refuses to be stifled, and in the intentional act of caring when it might feel easier to shut down. Joy becomes a form of resilience, proving that even amid all the atrocities, they can never take away our happiness.
This year, I’ve found joy in my day-to-day life with my cats, my family, my friends: my community. I’ve seen it at our Grinnell Rainbow Alumni events – whether it’s BINGO or at a Ren-Gay-Vous. I’ve even experienced it at Grinnell’s reunion. It is my hope – my wish – that you are also able to see and experience the joy around you. That you’re able to join the GRA’s next event – either in person or online – and share in a sense of community and joy. Together, may we continue to find, create, and carry that joy forward with one another.
In solidarity,
Carly Jerome ’11 (carlyjerome@gmail.com)
Chair, Grinnell Rainbow Alumni
On behalf of the entire Steering Committee
Scarlet and Give Back Day: Help us reach the “Magic Angle”
As any good Grinnellian knows, a rainbow isn’t a physical object you can grab—it’s an optical phenomenon that requires exactly the right conditions. To see a rainbow, light is refracted at an angle of 42 degrees from the antisolar point for the primary rainbow. This angle is crucial for the light to emerge from the water droplets and form the rainbow arc. To keep the SRC shining for future students, we need a little bit of “refraction”.
In order to unlock the leadership match of $4,740 we need 50 magical donors. Reaching our $50,000 goal this year will move the SRC Fund from “annual hope” to “endowed certainty.” A gift of any size will help with that goal! Fortunately for you, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations Staff love to see gifts of funny numbers, so whether that is $4.15, $20.26, $50.75, or really any amount will help us reach our goal!
Currently, we are sitting at: 16 donors and $4,971
Reunion 2026: Come Join the Fun!!
Reunion 2026 registration has opened and is in full swing! Thanks to a generous gift from the GRA leadership, we will have a celebration commemorating 40 years of the SRC at Grinnell College. We will have awesome swag that has a special commemorative logo designed by Mitch Avitt ’10! In addition to the usual Reunion festivities, we hope to see you at the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni (GRA) reception and at the (now annual!) drag show! This year’s theme is Scarlet and Slay!
Register for the 2026 Reunion here and see who is coming here!
Reunion Drag Show
Are you interested in either volunteering or performing in the 2026 Reunion drag show? Please contact Sarah Smith-Benanti at smithben@grinnell.edu to sign up.
Your Part of Grinnellian History: Share Your Story!
This year, the Grinnell College Stonewall Resource Center SRC celebrates its 40th anniversary. For four decades the SRC has been a place for memories, milestones, and community. As we mark its 40th anniversary, we are working to compile a collection of stories, from both before and after the creation of the SRC, that showcase the LGBTQIA+ life on campus.
Interested in sharing your story, no contribution is too small—whether it’s a single name, a memory, or a box of materials, each piece helps us build a more complete and inclusive record of Grinnell’s past. Help us preserve this history by sharing yours.
Fill out this survey so students can learn about the queer legacy at Grinnell.
Philanthropy Through Remembering a Classmate: Nick Marzano ’76
As the class of 1976 celebrates their 50th Reunion, Tammi Nyman Lasky and Sue Hyatt have undertaken the effort to remember their classmate, Nick Marzano. A resident of Read Hall (1972-73) and a 1976 Grinnell graduate, Nick passed away from AIDS in January, 1989. While effective antiviral therapies arrived a decade later, Nick unfortunately contracted the disease before there were any successful treatments. Nick was a vibrant personality and another fellow classmate, Judy Ranney ’76, was kind enough to share some photos of Nick. Nick was warm, friendly, and smart. He wrote poetry and completed a triple major that included math.
Nick’s friends are seeking to keep his spirit alive through supporting current Grinnell students who may be facing struggles similar to those that Nick experienced. In his memory, they invite you to consider a donation to the Grinnell College Rainbow Alumni Scholarship Fund to support LGBTQIA+ students.
For questions don’t hesitate to reach out to Susan Hyatt (suhyatt@iu.edu) or Tammi Lasky (tlasky655@gmail.com).
Want your upcoming event featured in our next newsletter?
Are you interested in publicizing your local LGBTQIA+ event in your city? In each edition of the newsletter, we are going to be spotlighting events all over the country (or world). All you have to do is fill out this form with the event details.
Want your pets featured in the newsletter?
In addition to having a meet the member section, we are delighted to introduce a meet a member’s pet section! We love your furry, scaly, feathered, fluffy (or plant!) friends as much as you do and would love to showcase them in the newsletter! Please fill out this form to enter your pet (or plant)!
Are you interested in being interviewed for the Rainbow Connections Newsletter for our ‘member spotlight’ feature?
We are looking for members for our ‘meet our alumni’ feature! If you are interested in being interviewed please fill out this form!
Member Spotlight: Caito Scheer ’09, they/them
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your time at Grinnell College? What was your year and Major?
I was a Theater and Dance major, class of 2009.
How do you identify now? Were you out during your time at Grinnell?
I identify as nonbinary and queer. There are other additional aspects of my sexuality or gender that I could list, but I feel like we (as a society) are still fairly limited in what language we have for the expansiveness of queerness, so sometimes I use certain other labels, but only either when I have the chance to explain the nuance/my personal definition of the term, or in certain contexts.
At Grinnell, I identified as lesbian, but I only knew a few other open nonbinary or trans folks. Even though each of them really blazed a trail (and I appreciate this, and each of them in general, so deeply) – since it was just a few, it was hard for me to connect the dots and see that this was something we shared. I am also hormonally intersex (I didn’t have that term back then), so it took me a while to understand any feelings of dysphoria or not feeling aligned with my assigned gender was related to my gender, and not just being intersex.
Luckily, at least the seeds were planted by the amazing queer community at Grinnell, as well as my cis, straight dude friends who were the kind of allies who always supported me, but also challenged me to self reflect when they perceived inconsistencies (… incon-cis-tencies?). Even though it took me years, these seeds – these questions, statements, discussions during my time at Grinnell – were all a foundation that allowed me to understand myself so much better once I was ready to really delve into that journey later on.
How would you describe your professional life so far? What do you do for a living?
Graduating at the beginning of the recession means my resume is… complicated. My longest recent career was as a Developer Advocate – the joke is that this is where every theater major who becomes a software engineer ends up. I was a software engineer for a while, then found myself giving talks internationally, and spending more time teaching and gathering developer and user feedback. All of these are some of the main components of a Developer Advocate (also called “devRel” for “developer relations”) and it felt like I was really made for that job.
However, among other challenges (i.e. tech leadership often have very different definitions of that role…), it also typically involves a lot of travel, which I loved, but in the end wasn’t sustainable while I was also going through some major life changes and now with the current political climate. I am now working in a marketing/content strategy role at a tech company – I still get to use a lot of my “devRel” skills there (and now getting to use those skills for fun outside of work as well), and I love my team and the work, and working fully remote has opened up a much happier and healthier lifestyle for me.
Have you volunteered with any LGBTQIA+ groups since graduation?
I do a lot of ad-hoc volunteering locally (and of course for the Grinnell reunion drag show). I had this notion that my involvement had to be “official” and measurable, but one thing I’ve learned while unlearning/unpacking a lot related to activism and mutual aid, is how much exists outside of what we think “counts” as volunteering/helping/making a difference. I do still want to get more regularly involved in certain orgs, but I’ve also been exploring and expanding my reach and capacity through smaller, direct mutual aid, teaming up and resource sharing with friend groups and smaller communities that form around specific local needs.
What was the overall atmosphere like at Grinnell while you were there? Were you involved in any campus groups at the time?
Tough question to answer! I’ll start by saying that I was involved in a lot of different activities. I am still utterly delighted, proud, and impressed at the number and variety of student-led organizations that existed when I was there (and that I was supported in creating, like the tango club).
It was honestly soul-fulfilling to be in a walkable community, where every lounge and corner there was something different going on – something that someone decided was worth their limited time to set up and gather around. It might be some people (and maybe some special brownies) relaxing at the Simpsons weekly binge night, or the very opinionated Star Trek Drinking Game Club (I still owe some of you some whiskey), or one of the sober groups doing creative game nights. It might be someone being vulnerable to a crowd for the first time at a poetry reading, or someone far from home teaching their hallmates how to cook their mother’s recipes. I remember being really excited to join the Campus Carnivores and Grinnell Vegan club. I love that I have friends who decided to attend all the religious groups that weren’t of the religion they grew up with. I loved making lifelong friends in town and exploring as much of Iowa as I could.
I loved that people cooked waffles and handed them out to you through windows late at night. I love that if you opened your window on Loose 2nd, on one side is a raucous party with jiggling jello shots and bone-shattering bass, and on the other side is a group of friends rivaling their volume, playing an all night game of Settlers of Catan.
I loved that there were dozens of activities I had no interest in, but that my friends could attend, benefit from, and come back and tell me all about it. I freaking. LOVED. BOBS. I loved that when I had hard days, when I felt alone or stressed out of my mind, there was always something – not something to fix it or make it go away, not always something that could help in the moment, but something that at least by the next day or so could make me remember that I’m not alone, and remember how much beauty there is around me, and in other people (yes I know it’s cheesy – I said what I said).
Did you use the Stonewall Resource Center at all when you were a student? If so, do you have any particular memories associated with it?
Most of my memories are indirect, but still meaningful. During my tour as a prospie, I was so nervous to ask my tour guide about the queer culture at Grinnell, but I did, and his answer made me feel so safe and supported (and even inspired me to become a tour guide once I joined Grinnell).
I was involved in, or attended and benefited from a lot of different events and activities – many of which were student-led, but received support or resources from the SRC. Some of my favorites were groups like LMNOP (Lesbian Movie Night and Organized Procrastination), and the annual pride parade, where for a the first year, me and my motorcycle were the entire d*kes on bikes section, and then it was me and a whole flock of decorated campus bikes, and then my junior year, unicycles joined, only to be upstaged my senior year with someone on a unicycle with a rat riding on their shoulder. Even though I’ve been in the d*kes on bikes (and other orgs) in pride parades in other/larger cities, Grinnell was still some of my favorite pride parade memories.
One of the biggest SRC impacts on me was also the most indirect – just knowing that it existed, and seeing how it supported my friends. I had multiple friends who came out in college – some of whom were dealing with significant barriers and family pressure, and I remember several of them telling me how going to the SRC helped them feel safe and that there wasn’t anything wrong with them – something that is absolutely essential for people first coming out, or really any queer college student trying to exist and thrive in the world today.
How visible were LGBTQ+ students and employees on campus when you were an undergraduate? What do you remember about that?
As I mentioned, we didn’t have a huge amount of representation for trans & nonbinary students or employees, but identifying as lesbian, gay or bi was very common amongst the students in the years I was there.
I knew several professors who were queer, but at least in my experience, most of them seemed reserved about it – I remember being grateful for the representation, but also wishing that some of them could be more ‘loud’ about it or open to talking about it (zero shade to any of them – I assume it wasn’t as accepted to do that as a professor at that time).
Now, coming back for reunion and seeing professors and staff actively a part of the drag shows and SRC and other campus groups has (I know this is going to sound cheesy, but I mean it) genuinely filled my heart and given me so much hope for these next generations of students. I also know that this has been extra hard to do in the last few years; it makes me want to do what I can to support these staff in their work, and I hope each of them knows what a difference they are making to so many students, and alumni.
Are there any books or movies that were especially important for your personal coming out journey?
I don’t actually have very many (except maybe: when I came out, my mom said she knew I was gay because when I was 5, I ran around the house quoting the Red Green Show “if the women don’t find me handsome, they’ll at least find me handy!” while carrying woodworking tools. … and cutting my own hair…).
But in my Grinnell years – watching But I’m A Cheerleader was an eye-opening experience. Not because of the movie, but because of watching it with other queer folks: I was naive about a lot of things, had a lot of unchecked privilege, and also thought I knew everything (terrible combo!). I had some incorrect assumptions (for instance I had no idea conversion camps were real, so I thought the entire thing was 100% comedy). There was one particular classmate who challenged each of my assumptions. The way that they approached it – kindly, but not about to let any of my BS slide – really set a high standard for me in how to take and receive feedback. I think about that moment and that classmate a lot- specifically the importance of confronting assumptions, of holding your peers accountable, and how integral that is as part of building a healthy community.
Similarly, watching L Word at LMNOP – I don’t think the show itself was that formative for me, but being able to watch a lesbian-focused show with other lesbian- and bi-identified peers was extremely helpful for me in normalizing my sexuality and learning how to be a better member of a queer community.
Do you have any particular memories associated with any LGBTQIA+ Reunion activities? Any words of advice for folks who are coming back for their Reunion this year?
Go to the drag show!! I am, of course, extremely biased (I’ve been on the committee for the reunion drag show for the last several years), but there’s a reason I keep coming back to it. I’ve seen firsthand the sheer amount of love, consideration and care (and massive logistics undertaking!) that goes into it by the staff (shoutout to Sarah Smith-Benanti!!), and by each committee member and performer.
I’ve seen alumni of all ages do their first ever drag show and CRUSH it. I’ve gotten to pass on what I know to new performers and have learned so much from mind-blowingly talented artists. I’ve laughed, cried, had backstage dildo fights, ridden into the sunset on inflatable pink ponies with my beloved peers, and last year’s show was so special on so many levels, I even got a tattoo of it.
Each show I’ve been a part of, even the virtual ones – I’ve received feedback from attendees about how much joy it brought them, or that they felt seen, and frequently that this was the first time they felt encouraged to try something like this for themselves.
Last year, we (the committee and performers and staff) worked really hard to find a balance between holding space for the devastating news and hits that our community has faced, while also trying to light the fires of us all being in this fight together, and hopefully still bringing some much needed joy and celebration. I had attendees (including alumni, professors, staff, and plus-ones) coming up to me the whole weekend telling me how much certain performances meant to them, and the most repeated theme was that it made them feel like they belong here, and that we “can do this.”
I also had several cis/straight attendees/plus-ones who had never been to – and were hesitant about drag shows (and other queer focused events), tell me that this show changed their mind, and some of them even wanted to get involved. I think that really says how impactful Grinnell’s LGBTQIA+ community and staff are, and why having solid representation and LGBTQIA+ focused events is so important.
I would also recommend that alumni check out the drag clothing closet (and the career clothing closet). You can even bring clothes to Reunion to donate.
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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.
- Did a friend forward this email to you? Sign up as a member of the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni by submitting your email address here.
- 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 Rainbow Alumni Stonewall Resource Center Endowed 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.
- Sign up to be a mentor: Register for the LGBTQIA+ MentorGrinnell.