Veritas et Arcus Iris
A Note from Rainbow Alumni Leadership:
During this busy holiday time, I am reminded of “family.” We see movies, television shows, and songs longing to satisfy the need to be home by Christmas. We see advertisements with long dining room tables filled with copious amounts of home cooked food surrounded by grandparents, aunts and uncles and children by the dozen. But what about those of us that don’t have that Hollywood perfect home? For me, I have my chosen family. We aren’t bound together by blood, but by choice. Every day we wake up and choose to be with those we care about and support. I remember when I first started to find my chosen family – how it was a daunting task – were these people going to accept and love me for who I am? Would they choose me? It was a leap of faith, so to speak, but it was worth it. I found people that continue to show up for me, even in times of hardship.
Merriam-Webster defines family as a “basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; [as well as] a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.” In other words, a family can be as simple as a community brought together by a myriad of commonalities. Sometimes it’s an interest such as a movie franchise or sports team. Other times, it’s simply knowing that we’ve both been on Mac Field that can spark that Hallmark family feeling.
If you’re still looking to build your chosen family, your community, please consider joining us and taking on a more engaged role with the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni. From in-person kikis to virtual meetups, from engaging and mentoring current students to connecting with alumni from a previous generation, the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni gives multiple opportunities to find others and start building your own community. If you’re unsure where to start, please feel free to reach out to myself or one of our steering committee members and we can fold you into our little Grinnell Rainbow Alumni family.
In solidarity,
Carly Jerome ’11 (carlyjerome@gmail.com)
Chair, Grinnell Rainbow Alumni
On behalf of the entire Steering Committee
More Than a Server: Grinnell’s Rainbow Discord Builds Digital Community with Real-World Roots.
Formed in early 2023, the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni Discord was created to bring together the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. Over the past two and a half years this community has evolved. Topics for discussion include current events and home and garden, where members show off everything from home renovations to gardens. Additionally, one of the most popular channels is, by no surprise, pets! Grinnellians from all over are keen to share their furry friends (and even some feathery or scaly ones). Yet, one specific, universally beloved phenomenon stands out: cats in boxes. The Grinnell Rainbow Alumni Discord serves as a powerful model for how digital communities can sustain and deepen real-world connections, providing a vital, evolving space for identity, discourse, and, of course, a healthy dose of shared pet adoration. Come join the online community by clicking this link!
Join the Reunion Drag Subcommittee:
We need you to help us plan the Reunion 2026 Drag Show! Don’t worry if you’ve never planned a show or even been to a drag show before, because we have a great plan in place to create a fabulous show. All we need is a little help from you to add to the fun.
Committee members will:
- Help us recruit performers, we have sample outreach emails
- Determine a theme for the show
- Host a virtual happy hour to recruit performers
- Host a virtual happy hour for performers to discuss the run of show and determine finale song
- Create promotional material to share on social media
- Assist the night of the show by handing out programs, candy, condoms, and collecting tips
Time commitment will be 1 Zoom meeting per month from January through May. You do not need to attend Reunion to be on this committee. Email Sarah Smith-Benanti, smithben@grinnell.edu, if you are interested or have questions.
MentorGrinnell:
MentorGrinnell, a program co-sponsored by the Grinnell College Center for Career, Life and Service and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations is dedicated to fostering representation & belonging by creating an affirming and authentic space where students and alumni can connect with others who share their lived experiences and identities. Through six structured sessions, the program facilitates shared growth & support, allowing participants to learn from one another’s stories, strategies, and successes. MentorGrinnell is an empowerment and advocacy initiative dedicated to building meaningful connections and strong, supportive professional networks. It provides clear pathways into professional communities that extend far beyond simple career advice. At the core, sessions can focus on self-advocacy and leadership, enabling participants to navigate professional environments with their whole identity affirmed and actively contribute to building inclusive communities.
As an alumnus, you have the opportunity to register as both a mentor or a mentee! MentorGrinnell welcomes participation at every stage of your professional journey. We strongly encourage you to register as a mentor. Your unique life experiences and professional insights are incredibly valuable to the current students. Register for the LGBTQIA+ MentorGrinnell here
GivingTuesday Recap:
We are delighted to announce the overwhelming success of the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni’s inaugural GivingTuesday campaign for our newest fund, the Rainbow Alumni Stonewall Center Fund.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our alumni community, we have successfully launched this vital fund, raising a total of $16,935!
Your Impact at a Glance: The campaign utilized a matching challenge from the Rainbow Alumni Leadership, which we are proud to report was fully unlocked by noon!
- Donor Contributions: A total of 16 donors contributed $9,435.
- Leadership Match: Because the donor contributions surpassed the $7,500 goal, the Rainbow Alumni Leadership provided the full $7,500 match.
Thank you so much to every donor for your dedication and generosity on GivingTuesday. Your support secures a programmatic fund for the Grinnell College Resource Center and great opportunities for its students!
Mark Your Calendars! GRA Road Show:
Are you Interested in connecting with and learning more about the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni?
The GRA is thrilled to announce that our leadership team is hosting a special Road Show event on the evening of Thursday, January 22, 2026!
At this session it will be a chance to meet your GRA leadership, learn more about the programs offered, and ask any questions you might have! Registration is coming soon. Watch your inbox for the official registration link—we’ll send it out as soon as it’s ready.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
Your Part of Grinnellian History: Share Your SRC 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 memories of the SRC? Fill out this quick survey (it is only three questions, we promise and two of them are optional) or share your thoughts in the comments!
Meet a Member: Paul Hermann, class of 1987
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your time at Grinnell College? What was your year and major?
I transferred to Grinnell as a sophomore. I arrived during a housing crunch, so I was put into Russian House as a brand-new student, but it turned out well because I made a lot of good friends in the house. I graduated in 1987 as a religious studies major.
How do you identify now? Were you out during your time at Grinnell?
I identify as a gay man. I say “queer” when I’m talking to young and hip people, like my kids. But “gay man” is still how I describe myself most commonly. I arrived at Grinnell hoping to come out as soon as I could (I had wanted to come out as a first-year student at UC San Diego, but it wasn’t a safe environment at the time). I started hanging out with a group of queer students in the first weeks of school and everyone just sort of assumed I was gay, so I never felt like I really had to come out to them and it was an easy process. For most of my three years, I was very out.
When I explain to friends now that I found it difficult to come out at UC San Diego in 1983 and easy to come out at Grinnell College in 1984, they are often surprised. People assume that San Diego was more liberal and Iowa was more conservative. That’s certainly true today. So I always have to remind them that San Diego in general was very conservative in the 1980s. UCSD did not feel like a particularly safe place for queer people to be open in 1983. Iowa, at the time, was actually much more liberal than it is today, at least in its partisan-political alignment. And Grinnell, of course, already had a long history as a socially progressive school by the time I arrived in 1984. When I got to Grinnell, it just felt easy and normal to be myself and to be open about my identity. I’ll always be grateful to the Grinnell community and culture for providing me that safe space at a time when I really needed it.
How would you describe your professional life so far? What do you do for a living?
I worked in local politics, HIV-related policy work, and then went to graduate school for a very long time. I started in religion and then switched to American history. In the last years of graduate school, my husband and I had twin daughters. So, once I finished, I became mostly a stay-at-home parent and volunteer. Now that they are grown and out of the house, I’m a volunteer with various non-profit organizations (and Grinnell College).
Have you volunteered with any LGBTQIA+ groups since graduation?
I moved to San Francisco right after graduation, in 1987, specifically to get involved in the AIDS epidemic and San Francisco’s response. I volunteered and worked for a variety of HIV-prevention groups, but mostly ended up involved politically working directly for local elected officials who were fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights. I worked for one of the leaders of the early fight to recognize domestic partnership in California, which laid the groundwork for the later recognition of marriage equality. I also worked on HIV-related issues and gay-rights issues in South Africa for a year.
What was the overall atmosphere like at Grinnell while you were there? Were you involved in any campus groups at the time?
Grinnell was a very easy place to be gay, in the sense that I felt accepted and wasn’t ever worried about backlash or judgment. I felt free to express myself openly. I never experienced overt bigotry.
I was involved with the Grinnell College Gay Community (GCGC), but not extensively. I remember going to meetings, which were held at the time in Steiner Hall. I was a theater kid and was a member of the improv club. I briefly had a late-night radio show at the radio station (with the real talent, Tracey Collins), which my three friends listened to somewhat regularly.
You graduated just after the Stonewall Resource Center was started. Do you remember what you thought at the time? Did you ever use the space?
Honestly, my memories about this issue in particular are pretty vague. However, I do remember going with a small group of people to meet with President George Drake to advocate for the designation of a specific space in the Forum for the Stonewall Resource Center. I don’t remember why or how I got involved in that, but it must have been through the GCGC. The reason I know the memory is pretty solid is that I can picture President Drake’s office, and I never was there otherwise. Also, I knew him personally after that and later met up with him when he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho and I was living in South Africa.
Once the Stonewall Resource Center opened, I just remember being proud that we had fought for it.
How visible were LGBTQ+ students and employees on campus when you were an undergraduate? What do you remember about that?
LGBTQ+ students were visible, at least to me. It’s probably more accurate (as a historian) to say that lesbian women and gay men were fairly visible. I didn’t know of any students, staff, or faculty who were trans. And bi students were suspected, by most people at least, of being gay and just not ready to say it. (That’s a huge change from the 1980s to today. My daughters just graduated from colleges where a large proportion of their fellow students identified as bi. And my daughters both identify as queer; no one used that term in the mid-eighties because it remained a slur and hadn’t yet been reclaimed as a term of pride.)
I can’t remember being aware of any out gay faculty or staff. In retrospect, our art history professor was extremely flamboyant (he lived in downtown Grinnell and had pink flamingos in his windows), but I still didn’t assume at the time that he was gay.
Are there any books or movies that were especially important for your personal coming out journey?
I find that question tricky, for some reason, mostly because so many things were important to my journey that it’s hard to put a finger on what mattered most. In my senior year, GCGC brought the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk to campus.That was a huge influence on me and made me want to move to San Francisco. A few years after graduation, I was working for Harry Britt, who replaced Harvey Milk on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors after Milk’s assassination and was close friends with Dick Pabich, Harvey Milk’s former legislative aide. I also became friends with the filmmakers who won the Oscar for that film. So I’ve thought often about seeing that movie for the first time at the Forum. [ed: The film was produced by Richard Schmiechen, class of 1969; he and Robert Epstein, the director, were the first openly gay men to accept an Academy Award.]
There were so few films in the 1980s that dealt openly with gay themes, the few I saw made a big impression: My Beautiful Laundrette, Another Country, Making Love, Personal Best, Desert Hearts; they all shaped my identity (and internalized shame) to some degree.
You’ve been working a lot on planning the 2026 Reunion. Anything you’re particularly excited about? What have you gotten out of the experience so far?
It’s been a joy to work on the 2026 Reunion, mostly because the planning weekend brought me back to campus for the first time since 1987 and introduced me to a lot of fantastic classmates I hadn’t known. I’m delighted now every time I see these people on Zoom. It makes me so excited about the upcoming reunion. It turns out that I feel an affinity and a sense of trust and solidarity with other Grinnellians, even if they are people I never knew while I was in college.
I had a very small group of friends while I was at Grinnell. Most of them lived off campus in my last two years, and I also spent a semester away at Grinnell-in-London. For whatever reason, that small group of people hasn’t been involved with the college as alumni. So I have never attended a reunion, because my friends weren’t going to be there. But now I’ve finally realized that I’m just as happy to see old classmates that I never knew personally and to get to know them as the people we are today. I hope I can remain involved for a long time to come.
News from Campus and Beyond
The Scarlet & Black
From silence to pride: Grinnell LGBTQ+ residents share stories on love, loss and identity
A community panel event titled From Silence to Pride, where several longtime LGBTQ+ residents of Grinnell,IA shared their personal journeys regarding love, identity, and acceptance.The stories shared both highlighted the struggles of coming out and the joy of finding community and authentic selfhood.
QPOC envisions reclaimed future: performers immerse crowd in a world beyond generative AI
The bi-annual student drag show hosted by Queer People of Color (QPOC) was held on November 14. The theme blended Dr. Makeba Lavan’s tutorial class Afrofuturisms, Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer,” and urban dystopian 1927 film “Metropolis” provide hope amidst current anxieties. Overall the show tackled themes surrounding capitalism and artificial intelligence (AI). All funds raised by the QPOC performance will be donated to the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund (TMAF).
Hannah Alumni house opens after three year renovation process
Welcome home! The newly renovated Alumni House isn’t just a building; it’s a pillar of the Grinnellian community, curated with love and decades of memorabilia. It stands as the quintessential ‘place to return, a place to belong,’ offering alumni a warm, history-rich hub to reconnect and continue building their lifelong community.
News From Iowa
There wasn’t a lot of LGBTQIA+ news coming out of Iowa in the last month or two, but there was an incident in which a suburban Des Moines high school postponed a play in which two women characters make out. The play was to be staged a week later than originally planned. It is not clear what modifications to the production were made when it was staged a week later.
Check out our LinkedIn page
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14483590/
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- 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:
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- 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.
- 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.