SUNY SA Leaders March in New York City's Annual Pride Parade

 Student Assembly President Marc Cohen takes a selfie with student
leaders from across the system at the 2017 NYC Pride Parade. 

(Click on photo to increase its size.)

 

 

New York City - Student leaders from the SUNY Student Assembly marched in the 48th annual New York City Pride Parade. The parade, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, kicked off at noon in Midtown.
 

"Showing the world that SUNY is an open and accepting system is critical, especially in today's polarized political climate," said Student Assembly President and SUNY Trustee, Marc Cohen. "It's exciting to once again march in the parade with more than 300 of my colleagues from SUNY in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community!"
 

The NYC Pride Parade is the largest in the world, with tens of thousands of people expected to march. Led by four grand marshals, the theme of this years parade, “We are proud,” will aim to unite those marching, watching, and supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
 

Carlos Cobo, the Student Assembly's Director of Diversity and Inclusion, was also encouraged by the message and turnout. "It's incredible to see so many members of the SUNY family in New York City for this amazing event, specifically the huge number of student leaders," he said. "I'm proud to be part of a system like SUNY."
 

The members of the SUNY Student Assembly marched in support of the “We are proud” movement. As the biggest Pride celebration in the world, the annual civil rights demonstration brings together a variety of activists, politicians, and communities to march for a common cause.
 

Tanja Aho is President of the Graduate Student Association at the University at Buffalo. She and her wife traveled across the state for the event. "Joining SUNY at the NYC Pride parade as a representative of UB means a lot to me, because we want everybody to know that we love every single member of our community, and cherish the diversity of it," she said. "We are proud to call New York our home, where people of color, trans and gender non-conforming people, and queer folks find more respect and acceptance than in other states."
 

Source: SUNY SA