LBGTQ+ Services’ Programs
LBGTQ+ Services has a wealth of programs. See below for our monthly programs and our signature programs we put on every year.
Check out some of our upcoming programs that are open to all. If you want to work on an event together, email us at lbgt_wxgs@mit.edu. All events are free and open to all in the MIT community.
October Programs
LBGTQ+ Graduate Assistant Meet and Greet
Join us for an hour of creativity of making your own mosaic craft (great for any beginner) and building community while chatting with our new LBGTQ+ Graduate Assistant. Free Otto’s pizza with vegan and gluten free options as well.
- Date: Wednesday, October 1
- Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
- Location: Rainbow Lounge (50-250)
National Coming Out Day
Come hang out with G@MIT and LBGTQ+ Services for a National Coming Out Day celebration. There will be flags, buttons, pins, stickers and snacks plus signs you can write and decorate about what National Coming Out Day means to you. Open to all.
- Date: Friday, October 10
- Time: 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.
- Location: Lobby 10
Paint Night with At Peace Arts
In honor of Dating and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, join the Office of Violence Prevention & Response (VPR) and LBGTQ+ Services in the Rainbow Lounge for another Paint Night, which will include free dinner, a live DJ, and guided painting with At Peace Arts. The event will take place the last week of October, with a final date to be announced soon. We hope this can be a night of community, peace, allyship, and healing for the MIT community and survivors of dating and domestic violence. We’d love to see you there.
Learn more about At Peace Arts here.
- Date: Tuesday, October 28
- Time: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
- Location: Rainbow Lounge (50-250)
Campus Partner Events
Margaret Cheney Room Open House
Free and open to all!
Start your semester by stopping into the Margaret Cheney Room Open House! Meet our staff, connect with students, and discover all the ways this historic space supports women, nonbinary, and ally students at MIT. Whether you need a quiet place to study, a space to recharge, or a community to connect with, the Cheney Room has you covered. Enjoy snacks, conversation, and a welcoming community!
- Date: Friday, September 12
- Time: 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
- Location: Cheney Room | 3-308
Symbols That Create Community
A Women and Gender Studies (WGS) and Women and Gender Services (WXGS) collaboration: Symbols That Create Community with Lennon Michelle Hernandez Wolcott. Free food and open to all.
Lennon Michelle Hernandez Wolcott, of Indigenous (Yaqui)/Mexican American and Euro American descent, is an artist, curator, educator, and administrator whose work engages topics such as memory, loss, ethnic tradition, and multiculturalism, community activation, and decolonial thinking, embodied in research, storytelling, performance, and symbolism. Through a presentation of her work and her contemporaries, Lennon will discuss the structures of decolonial values through centering tradition, while elevating craft to fine art.
Afterwards, learn how symbols intersect to represent and unite through alter art. Lennon Hernandez Wolcott will discuss historical and cultural elements to create an Ofrenda (an Offering), through personally crafted mini ofrenda shadow boxes (Nichos) and review the elements for Día de los Muertos (water, wind, earth, fire). Each participant will be shown how to make elements of a Nicho box and then assemble them to create their own.
For questions and assistance with accommodations, please email WGS@mit.edu.
- Date: Monday, September 29
- Time: 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
- Location: Cheney Room | 3-308
La Yuma (2009) Film Screening
Join MIT Global Languages and WXGS for an Ibero-American celebration movie night. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. LA YUMA (2009) is a Nicaraguan film that tells the story of a resilient young woman from a poor neighborhood of Managua who dreams of becoming a professional boxer. Despite facing poverty, gender stereotypes, and violence, she pursues her passion for the sport as a path to independence and dignity. The film highlights themes of perseverance, gender empowerment, and social inequality. Free food!
Open to all MIT students. Students enrolled in Spanish courses are encouraged to attend.
- Date: Thursday, October 2
- Time: 5:30 p.m.
- Location: Cheney Room | 3-308
It’s a Vibe Workshop series is an interactive, multi-day program centered on storytelling, discussions, and actionable strategies to foster belonging and strengthen networks in personal, academic, and professional spaces for LBGTQ+ and ally communities.
The MIT Lavender Graduation is an annual ceremony hosted by LBGTQ+ Services and Alumni Association. This event celebrates the achievements and contributions of LBGTQ+ and ally students, faculty, and staff. The event includes speeches, music, awards, and the presentation of lavender cords to graduating LBGTQ+ and ally students.
MIT’s National Coming Out Day is a celebratory event organized by LBGTQ+ Services. Programs have included: LBGTQ+ and Allies Family Dinner, workshops on “coming out vs inviting in”, LBGTQ+ and allies with LBGTQ+ student groups, LBGTQ+ movie night, and more.
The Rainbow Compass Mentorship program is open to all current students of MIT interested in connecting with LBGTQ+ faculty and staff. This year-long program helps students build confidence, learn more about LBGTQ+ resources at MIT, provide guidance and advice on professional development, and build LBGTQ+ and ally community at MIT.
Applications for ’24-25 year are currently closed
The MIT Trans Day of Remembrance is an annual event organized by LBGTQ+ Services and the Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL) to honor and remember the lives of transgender and nonbinary individuals. The day typically includes a live streamed memorial service, speakers, and educational programming to raise awareness about the challenges faced by the trans and nonbinary community.
The MIT Trans Day of Visibility is an annual event to celebrate and uplift the achievements and contributions of transgender and nonbinary individuals. Programs have included workshops, panels, and social events aimed at increasing visibility and building inclusive community at MIT.
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