SPECTRUM Club provides safe, inclusive space for LGBTQ+ community at Durham Tech
Sexuality Pride Educate Connect Trust Respect Unity Multiplicity (SPECTRUM) is a student club at Durham Tech whose mission is to advocate for and support the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.
It was established in 1994 as the Gay and Lesbian Society, and later changed the name to SPECTRUM in 2010.
The club provides a safe and inclusive space for students and raises awareness of LGBTQ+ issues through educational advocacy and community engagement activities while working to dismantle oppression based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and relational style of all forms.
Former club senator, Cooper Pollock, said SPECTRUM provided him a sense of belonging.
“It is important to foster queer community wherever you are, especially on a college campus, and SPECTRUM allowed us to do just that,” he said. “In a place that may feel daunting to a LGBT+ student, the club provides a safe welcoming place. I came to Durham Tech in 2020 in the height of the pandemic and felt quite alone on campus. I was looking for a place where I belonged and SPECTRUM gave that to me.”
The club transitioned to virtual meetings and activities during the COVID pandemic, but will be back in-person this fall semester.
New faculty advisor, Dr. Marina DelVecchio, said students can expect weekly meetings with candid discussions to assess student needs, participation in poetry readings and community activities, the development of a newsletter, and film opportunities with panel experts.
“SPECTRUM is intended to provide those students who identify with the LGBTQIA+ community a safe and inclusive space that allows for their voices and identities to shine with agency and full acceptance,” she said. “When individual voices and bodies are freed from societal expectations, they can thrive through community and activism, so the goal for next year is to locate public activities and communities through which our students can assert their voices, creativity, and agency while also spreading positive information about LGBTQIA+ experiences.”
If students are interested in joining SPECTRUM, please contact Dr. Marina DelVecchio at delvecchiom@durhamtech.edu.
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Contact Marcy Gardner, Content and Social Media Coordinator, at gardnerm@durhamtech.edu