Ice cream, cones and toppings, friends, colleagues and sunshine. UCOP Pride’s fourth annual ice cream social — the first of several events planned for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month — offered a fitting kickoff for a month-long celebration of UCOP’s diversity and community.

In opening remarks, Pride member and past chair Karin Rice spoke about the origins of Pride Month, celebrated each June in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots. The riots started at New York City’s Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, following a police raid, a common occurrence for gay-patronized establishments at the time. The violent protest sparked five days of civil unrest that ignited the worldwide struggle for LGBTQ rights.

“As a member of the LGBTQ community at OP, looking back on the last year, it was all about the love,” Rice continued, referencing the June 26, 2013, Supreme Court rulings that have spurred the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage.

UC President Janet Napolitano told the crowd how much she liked working at UC and encouraged them to reach out to introduce themselves. She also described the 18th-century origins of the ice cream social and the ice cream flavors named after each UC campus.

In case you missed the event, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to catch up on the celebration throughout the month:

• Coming soon: Keep an eye out for the “Faces of Pride” photo exhibit in the Franklin lobby, featuring photos of UCOP staffers and their stories of pride and community.
• Tuesday, June 17, 12 to 1 p.m., 5320 Franklin: Sara O’Brien of the American Red Cross will give a talk, Are You My Type?, on the history of blood donation and efforts to lift the ban preventing gay men from donating blood.
• Friday, June 27: Ride the ferry to San Francisco for happy hour drinks and mingling on the eve of San Francisco’s Pride Celebration. Meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Oakland Ferry Terminal to board the 5:50 p.m. ferry. See the San Francisco Bay Ferry website for more details about location, fares and parking.

UCOP Pride is dedicated to providing advocacy, education and community building for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex community within UCOP and beyond. To find out more about the group or join their listserv, contact Karin Rice at Karin.Rice@ucop.edu.

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