Dear UVA LGBTQ+ community and allies,
It has been a challenging year already. You may have been following the Executive Orders causing healthcare to be restricted for parts of our community in Virginia, and QVA is staying closely connected with health and legal experts to see how we can best support, particularly for UVA students in need.
Of course, especially when times are hard, we have to find moments for joy and building community. As we planned 2025 alumni events, we believed nothing would be more fitting than paying homage to institutions which have worked tirelessly to provide a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community over the years. In that spirit, QVA is excited to invite you to our 2025 Iconic Queer Spaces alumni mixer series!
- The White Horse Inn in San Francisco
- Tuesday, April 8, 7-9 p.m. PT
- The White Horse Inn is the country’s oldest continuously operating gay bar
- The Abbey in Los Angeles
- Thursday, April 10, 7-9 p.m. PT
- The Abbey is a two-time winner of MTV’s “best gay bar in the world” award
- The Stonewall Inn in NYC
- Thursday, April 24, 6-8 p.m. ET
- The Stonewall Inn is the birthplace of the queer civil rights movement in the US
- Crush Dance Bar in D.C.
- Wednesday, June 4, 6-8 p.m. ET
- Celebrate World Pride in our nation’s capital
- We will also have events at UVA Reunions, and Fall Weekend dates are being finalized – more to come soon!
We will have private rooms at all of these events so that our UVA LGBTQ+ community can focus on better getting to know each other. Alumni, family, and friends are welcome, and allies are welcome too. Your registration includes complimentary drinks from the bar throughout the event, as well as light hors d’oeuvres. Space is limited — use the links above to RSVP today!
Please forward this email and encourage any LGBTQ+ UVA friends nearby who might be interested in attending or staying in touch to opt-in to our mailing list; we are still working to build out our alumni email listserv.
About QVA
QVA envisions a diverse and inclusive UVA community that is the best possible environment for LGBTQ+ students, alumni, faculty, and staff to study, work, and thrive. We provide nearly $300K in annual scholarships to LGBTQ+ students, and we build community by connecting alumni, students, faculty, and staff. For more information, visit our scholarships and awards page.
In these challenging times, it’s especially critical to support LGBTQ+ students on Grounds. We are actively fundraising for student scholarships, and even if you cannot attend the events, please consider making a donation. You’ll see two options to donate:
- Our Wavelength Fund is for financial need scholarships
- Our Operations Fund is for achievement-oriented awards (e.g. LGBTQ+ conferences or study abroad programs)
Questions
For questions regarding these events or donations, please contact QVA Events Chair, Thomas Sumner (Com ’19) at thomas@queervirginia.org or QVA Board Chair, Lance Guthrie (Com ’14) at lance@queervirginia.org.