All we need is love (and tie-dye t-shirts)
Students used rainbow colors to dye their shirts and custom designed their white crews by using tape to create hearts or patterns to display their pride.
November 10, 2016
The GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) celebrated the LGBTQ community and Irvington’s diverse student body through a tie-dye fundraiser on Thursday, Nov. 10 after school on the blacktop. A $5 fee was required and all proceeds went to the Rainbow Community Center in Concord, which provides services to support the physical and mental health of the LGBTQ community. Attendees dyed their white Blue Crews rainbow by tying the shirts with rubber bands, soaking them in hot water, then soaking them in dye baths. By transforming their Blue Crews from a simple white to a vibrant rainbow, IHS students displayed their pride for the LGBTQ community.
GSA partnered with ASB, who supplied the white Blue Crew shirts and helped organize the activity. During the event, ASB also manned the “Boba Bar,” a table that offered refreshing boba to participants as they dyed their shirts. There was also a photo booth where students could take pictures, some of which are on the GSA Facebook page and website.
After seeing IHS’s blue, white, and pink crews, GSA Publicity officer junior Raymond Pai came up with the idea of a rainbow crew as a way to show support for the LBGTQ community. However, instead of having ASB order pre-made shirts online, which would have been difficult and expensive, he decided to create the tie-dye event to provide students with a more interactive experience.
“To whoever might feel uncomfortable or might fear exposing their identity, seeing this group of people joining together for this cause might make them feel more confident,“ Pai said.
GSA has had little activity in the past few years, so the officers and members are working to revive the club and expand the Irvington student body’s knowledge of the LGBTQ community. The club’s main goal is to help students come together to fight back against the hate.
“We just want people to know that there still is homophobia and we want to make everyone feel comfortable” President of GSA, senior Justin Lee said.
Events like the tie-dye fundraiser demonstrate how Irvington students come together to help and support one another. This event is just the start of many GSA events and activities to come.
