Aragon holds pride rally

Two years ago, the San Mateo Union High School District designated the month of October as LGBTQ+ history month. Aragon has hosted an annual pride rally on Sept. 22 to recognize and uplift the school’s LGBTQ+ communities since 2016.

“It’s important for LGBTQ+ individuals to be seen and heard, and for everyone to be comfortable at school,” said senior and Rally Co-commission Head Seth Weinfield. “That’s really important [for] making sure that our Aragon community is comfortable within their own bodies. The pride rally can be a really happy, beautiful space where everyone can express themselves.”

Like last year, the annual pride rally was held in Center Court where students were able to compete in various games, a multi-element relay race and could get a variety of stickers and pins. Additionally, the dance team performed. 

“Idea wise, [this year’s rally is] about the same [as last year] because there’s not much room for tweaking,” said junior and Rally Co-commission Head Chin-yi Kong. “We only have a certain 20 to 25 minutes allotted, so overall, I think they’re similar.”

While many feel as though the rally was a success in celebrating pride, more can always be done.

“With the support of all marginalized communities, we can always do better,” said Gender and Sexuality Awareness club adviser Vince Bravo. “The [GSA] community itself does a great job in celebrating pride. [But] we as a community across the school, across the district [and] across the state could do more for students. Those are the goals that keep us going and keep us planning events like this.”

Others agree that some aspects of pride in the school could be expanded upon.

“I’m glad that we’re really prioritizing [the] pride rally, [but] I would [also] love to see a prioritization of LGBTQ+ history,” Weinfield said. “That’s very important. I think our Aragon community is doing a lot to support the LGBTQ+ community.”

Other events to celebrate pride beyond the rally also foster a sense of community and inclusion within the school.

“I always love the tie dye event [and] I think [it’s] super important,” Bravo said. “To be honest, when leadership first introduced it, I didn’t understand it. But once I understood, I really started to enjoy this kind of display of colorful pride [and the] recognition of [it].”

In previous years before COVID-19, rallies took place in the gym.

“I’m looking forward to indoor rallies because being in the gym, everyone has to focus on what’s happening,” said junior Isabella Guevara. “When everyone’s outside, I feel like most people don’t really pay as much attention.”

This also means that specialized rally schedules will be returning, which include a period of time for the rally separate from lunch. On the other hand, carnivals, outdoor events built around minigames that replaced rallies during the pandemic, may be discontinued.

“[Carnivals were] chaotic because [everyone] was trying to figure out what station they were in,” Kong said. “We had to run stations and [there] was screaming [at] kids.”

While carnivals may be discontinued, there is a different plan for outdoor rallies.

“This year, we’re going to take the best of both worlds,” Weinfield said. “It’s definitely a challenge, because I’m a senior, and we’re the only class that has actually been to an indoor rally.”

Moving forward, the other three prominent Aragon rallies — the homecoming, formal and prom rallies — have been slated to take place in the gym. These rallies will be the first indoor rallies in three years.