Rainbow Coalition students value similarities and differences

It's Pride Week at Arizona State University, and ASU Now asked students from the Rainbow Coalition and the Barrett, The Honors College LGBTQIA+ group to share their experiences with the larger Sun Devil community. The coalition serves as an umbrella organization to the many lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asexual organizations that impact the ASU community, promoting dialogue as well as civic engagement for ASU students.

Freshman political science major Sarah Cichomski, who is affiliated with Barrett's group, sees how students are more alike than different.

"We're here for the same reasons as you," said Cichomski, who hopes to work in international law in China. "We're here to pursue what we want to do and we have a wide variety of interests."

Rainbow Coalition President Gayatri Girirajan sees a more open and forgiving dialogue as a way to dismiss stereotypes which are ultimately reductive and prevent us from fostering better understanding.

"This is a community that spans across every single demographic, across all walks of life and to realize that our identities are only one part of who we are," said the sustainability and geography sophomore. "Even if we're different then that's a beautiful thing." 

Girirajan sees the LGBTQIA+ community on campus as too broad to apply stereotypes.

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles on ASU's diverse student coalitions. Learn more about the Asian/Asian Pacific American Student Coalition, Black African Coalition, Coalition of International Students, El Concilio and the Womyn's Coalition.