By Sara Ballenger

Rainbow flags can be seen all over campus at Foothill College, as part of this month’s gay/lesbian heritage celebration.

Gay heritage is just one of five cultures that Foothill College acknowledges through its heritage months, beginning in February with African-American Heritage Month, Women’s History Month in March, Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month in April and Latino Heritage Month in May.

“We have always had cultural events that the campus has sponsored, but it has solidified in the past 10 years and is identified by the college as celebrations of various cultures and backgrounds,” said Foothill’s Director of Student Activities, Daphne Small. “The Gay and Lesbian Heritage Month is about diversity awareness.”

The awareness program features guest speakers, panel discussions, comedy, poetry, a photography exhibit, a literature display in the campus bookstore, art projects and a drag show. The June 5 show featured professional drag queens and kings from San Francisco, including Raquel, who graduated from Foothill College in 1983.

“There was nothing like this when I went here,” Raquel said. “It’s great to see that the gay community can have events like this and inform people that we are out here and that we want to be accepted. These kind of events help build interpersonal relationships between the gay and straight community, and it was great to see everyone having fun.”

Raquel’s being able to come back to Foothill and perform as a drag queen is proof positive of just how far the gay and lesbian community has come. Foothill English professor Scott Lankford sees the gay and lesbian community as having a definite history and culture.

“There is an assumption that gays and lesbians don’t have a heritage - of course we do,” he said. “We have a literary, political, artistic and musical heritage. I am also proud of the heritage here at Foothill and in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. We were the first higher educational district anywhere in the country to offer health benefits for domestic partners and have a gay and lesbian employee association.”

Aside from educating the public about gay culture and heritage, Lankford hopes the events promote acceptance.

For student Araceli Barragan, the celebration has done just that.

“People need to accept other people’s differences without feeling any rejection for those that are different,” she said at the drag show, which she attended this year for the first time. “It’s about how (gay and lesbian people) feel and their lifestyle and it’s a chance for them to express their culture - I respect that.”