History of Rainbow Fords:
Provided by Alissa Vandenbark
Rainbow Fords is a new name and iteration of a group that has existed on campus for a number
of years. The Queer Discussion Group (QDG) was created as a safe, confidential space for
queer students to meet up and discuss topics related to gender, sexuality, community, and life. I
joined the group my freshman year, and after my first semester our membership was quite
small. It was clear to the co-heads that something needed to shift, and that given the number of
people who came to the first couple meetings of the year, that there was a desire for queer
community still on campus. SAGA (the more general and open group for LGBTQ+
events/people on campus) disbanded before I came to Haverford (I think 2016), due to its
leadership graduating, and nothing had really taken its place. There was also a certain amount
of queer burnout on campus from upperclassmen who experienced special plenary of 2018. We
now have access to their archives thanks to the library and Ben Hughes, but no one still at
Haverford remembers them. In fall 2019 the co-heads surveyed our community and found that
people were wanting the group to shift a bit to be more involved on campus, and that we
needed to advertise better. As part of this, we decided to change our name and went through
the process of changing it with input and a vote from the community. We were almost the
rainbow squirrels, and our logo still reflects that second choice! During COVID we were fairly
inactive, as the co-heads felt way too busy, and whenever we did organize something, almost
no one showed up on zoom. However, we’re hoping to rebound as people search for in person
community in the year to come.
