Awareness & Events

Quad College LGBTQ+ Alliance Back-to-School Bash
This event is takes place in Broadway Square (Downtown Fargo) on each Fall as part of a collaboration with FM area colleges. There will be lawn games, food trucks, and music. If you have questions about the event, please contact Emma Dodds.

North Dakota LGBTQ+ Summit
This is an in person event. Visit their website for more information.

Welcome Week
During Welcome Week a number of events and social opportunities for members of the queer community and their allies are hosted. For more information on the full schedule of events for Welcome Week, please visit NDSU Welcome Week.

Bi-Visibility Day
Discourse about and within the LGBTQ+ community is tainted by homonormativity which privileges single-gender static sexual orientations as the norm. Bisexual, pansexual, sexually fluid, and queer persons find their experiences and identities erased because of this (called bi-invisibility). Bi-Visibility Day is observed September 23 each year.

LGBTQ+ History Month
Each October, NDSU celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month with a great deal of pride. Events will be held throughout the month to bring awareness of, education about, and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community.

Trans Day of Remembrance
Trans lives are lost in our country at an alarming rate due to transphobia and violence. This is particularly true for trans women of color. Lest these lives pass without recognition, and the epidemic of trans violence is not acknowledged, the NDSU community celebrates Trans Day of Remembrance. Trans Day of Remembrance is observed November 20 each year.

World AIDS Day
The HIV and AIDS epidemic significantly impacted the lives of the queer community, particularly gay and bisexual persons. The astounding loss of life coalesced the queer and allied community into a number of rights movements demanding advancement in health care, medication, legal protection, and education. Today, medical advancements have changed the prognosis of HIV and its transmission. However, there remains unjust stigma that those with HIV must bear in society. World AIDS day is observed on December 1 each year.

Trans Day of Visibility
Many people who fall outside of gender norms find that they are marginalized or forced to hide, even in our present society. Efforts to positively highlight trans lives has slowly been taken up in the media. Nonetheless, more could be done to showcase the richly diverse trans community. Each year on March 31, we celebrate the lives and accomplishments of trans and gender non-conforming folx.

Rainbow Prom
Due to prevailing heteronormative practices and expectations, many queer folx do not have the opportunity to go to a dance in high school and express themselves authentically. This may be due to restrictions (social or institutional) on same-sex partners, regulations about gendered norms of dress, limitations to the number of partners one might have, and any other number of factors. Because of this, the queer community of the Fargo-Moorhead colleges and Universities holds a dance especially for LGBTQ+ students. Information about the date, time, and location of Rainbow Prom will be shared when further information becomes available.

Day of Silence
The NDSU campus celebrates the National Day of Silence, an initiative of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network). Allies of the LGBTQ+ community take a temporary vow of silence to stand in solidarity with queer folx who find themselves silenced and marginalized. The National Day of Silence happens in April of each year.

Lavender Graduation
Started by Dr. Ronni Sanlo in 1995 at the University of Michigan, this tradition has spread to institutions of higher education across the United States. Lavender Graduation is a celebration of LGBTQ+ graduates from colleges and universities in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Information about the location and date/time of the event will be listed as plans are finalized.