EKU students organize independent Pride event amid DEI crackdown at universities

Student organizations at Eastern Kentucky University hosted the campus’ annual Pride in the Plaza event this year.

Food stands, merch booths and rainbow decorations covered the plaza outside EKU’s student union most of Tuesday.


The annual event was normally organized by the school itself. But last year’s passage of House Bill 4 by state lawmakers banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs by universities.


Alice Harkins is an EKU grad student and one of the event’s organizers. She says they put together the event on relatively short notice once students realized it hadn’t been scheduled by EKU.


“I think that if House Bill 4 hadn't passed, they would have absolutely been hosting Pride in the Plaza this year. But you know, to the letter of the law, we're still allowed to do it, so we're going to do it,” Harkins said.


Organizers relied completely on outside donations and couldn’t take anything from the university.


“Even the machines that we're using for popcorn and stuff were borrowed from an outside organization because SGA could not give us their equipment to use for this, because it is a Pride event,” Gillian Gabhart, a fellow student organizer, said.


Callie Smallwood is an EKU student who visited the event with her friends between classes. She says events like these are important because they’re a visible showing of LGBT solidarity.


“It is an outlet for those that it applies to and even those that it doesn't apply to, but want to still offer their love and support. It's very important for things like this to still happen, and I think it shows a lot of courage to still be out here and putting this together,” Smallwood said.


While student organizers were able to put on the event this year, Harkins says she’s concerned for the future of the event in the long run.


“While it's obviously possible for this to be organized by students, it was such a tight frame, and it's not sustainable for it to be organized like this every year,” she said. “And after this event passes, and we have kind of a week to decompress and recover, the students are going to get together and kind of just discuss the future of Pride in the Plaza.”