by Alex Lauricio and Renee Tolentino

Progress. Community. Freedom. These are but a few of the words etched into the mind of a young transferee upon entering the walls of Ateneo for the first time. The courtyard had assemblies of trees, and the classrooms had top-of-the-line equipment. The one thing that caught their eye? The all-gender bathrooms on the second floor of the senior high building.

These bathrooms would be the first of many small realizations that they would see in their new environment—from the class number list reaching forty and above: with no specific gender label, and simply counting everyone as one, to seeing organizations dedicated to the protection of like LGBT+ students. It’s a clapback to the slogan outside the senior high building, “This is the place where we belong.”

These changes, although small, remain visible signs of progress. It shows the lengths of Ateneo’s willingness to accept new ideas that challenge the traditional norms of similar Catholic schools. Ateneo provides a safe haven for the cause of all its students—regardless of sexuality, gender, identity, or expression. This safe space is manifested by Ateneo’s Gender Hub, ASHS Lakambini, organizations that promote self-expression, and the overall warmth of the ASHS community. 

This October, Pride has been celebrated in many ways. For one, the recently concluded One Big Pride held last October 11 reflected the openness of Ateneo. Alongside this, Gender Hub opened different hangouts and watch party sessions, paving the way for the bright colors of the rainbow. 

These celebrations are a paradigm of cultivating a culture that promotes inclusive nature within Ateneo. However, zooming out on the bigger picture of community acceptance comes to show that Pride is not yet purely met with sunshine and rainbows behind these little celebrations. 

On days October 17 and 20, Gender Hub held a safe space conversation entitled “Rainbow Connections”, that allowed student participants to share their thoughts in relation to the openness of the ASHS community. Inclusive of these little discussions is how the students pointed out how they were embraced and empowered. Yet, despite the accepting community that Ateneo had cultivated, there are still corner cases where Ateneo does not completely deliver that welcoming feeling of ‘this is the place where we belong.’ There are still many obstacles left in Ateneo’s LGBT+ community in how they express who they are, how they navigate through unsafe spaces within Ateneo, and the many people who are unsympathetic towards their cause. 

The progress has come this far, but it sure has a long way to go. From little actions of acknowledging pronouns to big steps of fully making oneself aware of what it means to be open, these things are the building blocks toward a safer community. There is value in making efforts to learn, understand, and maneuver life in the pursuit of making it safe for all. There’s value in standardizing safe spaces and making a difference.

Just as how rainbows are complete circles, the fight for freedom will continue to grow and prosper. Each cause will unceasingly be celebrated and each day will be a small ladder to the goal. Pride will always be a protest—a limitless rainbow, a circle of continuous varying colors, and a progress of better days.

Thumbnail from Gender Hub’s Rainbow Connections: Safe Space Conversation