Passion and Pride: How the Office of Belonging and Inclusion Supports the LGBTQ+ Community
As an outpouring of Babson College community members stepped onto Boylston Street for the Boston Pride Parade on June 14, they weren’t just marching. They also were representing all members of the College’s LGBTQ+ community.
“Although we stood in the rain for hours, our passion and cheers didn’t fade,” said Denicia Ratley, senior director of belonging and inclusion at Babson, noting that about 30 staff, faculty, graduate students, alumni, friends, and families turned out to march. “We were loud, we were joyful, and we were proud. It was such a beautiful and meaningful experience.”
PHOTO SLIDESHOW: See more photos from the Boston Pride Parade below.
The parade in the middle of Pride Month capped a busy and productive first year for Babson’s Office of Belonging and Inclusion, which joined together the offices of Multicultural & Identity Programs as well as Religious and Spiritual Life.
Staff members and students this past year ramped up programs and designed campus events that embrace, support, and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, in conjunction with partners across the camps. The work and the collaborations continue to advance the College’s commitment to Inclusive Excellence, which integrates a wide range of experiences and perspectives into its proven approach to entrepreneurial education.
“Our work and efforts have embodied what inclusive excellence not only means,” Ratley said, “but also how it is practiced with and for our students.”
A Home for Everyone
The main mission of the Office of Belonging and Inclusion is to make Babson feel not only safe but also like home for everyone on campus.
For Babson’s LGBTQ+ community, that work extends through the year at events such as the LGBTQ+ Welcome Reception, Lavender Graduation, and the Inclusive Excellence Summit. From reading a land and labor acknowledgment at those events, to lending an ear to students navigating their identities for the first time, the work of the Office of Belonging and Inclusion along with campus partners have created a more layered, intentional foundation for LGBTQ+ belonging.
“The reality that we get to train and support students is one of the greatest opportunities we have to contribute to their leadership development and lifelong learning.”
Denicia Ratley, senior director of belonging and inclusion at Babson
Over the past year, Ratley and staff members in the Office of Belonging and Inclusion have launched, elevated, and re-envisioned a host of opportunities for students, faculty, and staff members across the campus.
“I am deeply proud of my team and how they not only expanded these programs and events but also created new initiatives that were necessary and needed for our students,” Ratley said.
LGBTQ+ Life at Babson
Belonging and Inclusion staff led Culture and Identity Competency Training from a LGBTQ+ lens for more than 100 student leaders, such as resident assistants and Peers on Wellness, to prepare them to lead inclusively across campus.
“The reality that we get to train and support students is one of the greatest opportunities we have to contribute to their leadership development and lifelong learning,” Ratley said. “Over the past year, my team and I collaborated with student leaders across Greek organizations, Athletics, Residential Life, and beyond. Our efforts have centered on cultivating spaces for critical reflection, cross-cultural learning, and unlearning.”
The College continued to highlight events such as Coming Out Day on October 11 to reflect the significance of story and presence. And, in April, it convened its annual LGBTQ+ Conference. The conference included the popular Drag Brunch, which was the most attended event, as well as workshops and panel discussions on know your rights and a screening of the documentary Breaking the News, featuring personal stories of LGBTQ+ journalists.
Among its new initiatives, Belonging and Inclusion launched “Safe Space, Take Space,” which explores how different identities experience safety. “This offers students the opportunity to be seen and heard, and permission to take space as we create safe spaces for them and their stories,” Ratley said.
The Boston Pride Parade is a public-facing moment of celebration and visibility every year and the culmination of year-round work to ensure LGBTQ+ students—current and future—are welcomed and represented.
See photo slideshow from the Boston Pride Parade:
(Photos by Elissa Kempisty ’23)
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