We all scream for ice cream!
Beautiful sunshine and the lure of a free afternoon treat drew staff to Franklin’s fifth-floor rooftop garden on June 30 for UCOP Pride’s fifth annual ice cream social.
The event capped off LGBTQ Pride Month, celebrated each June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, which started at New York City’s Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, which ignited the modern struggle for LGBTQ rights worldwide. Friday’s event was especially celebratory, given the U.S. Supreme Court’s recognition of same-sex marriage just days before.
As employees savored their vanilla and chocolate ice cream with myriad toppings, UC President Janet Napolitano declared that ice cream is part of the Global Food Initiative, and noted the disagreement between Oakland’s two favorite ice cream makers — Fenton’s and Dreyer’s — over which one invented rocky road. Then she turned serious, honoring OP Pride, saying it’s “integral to the robust diversity of the Office of the President. We celebrate the LGBTQI community’s importance to OP, the university, the community and the world.”
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.
Thank you to Janet for her presence and remarks. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped scoop ice cream, set up and cleaned, etc. Most of all thank you to the weather “gods” for providing a perfectly sunny day for us to enjoy the ice cream.
If you couldn’t make it, we’re sorry we missed you.