At the end of Pride Month, an extremely brave group of Brigham Young University (BYU) students, friends, and alumni participated in a Pride event. What makes this such a big deal, given that people all over the nation (and, really, the world) participated in Pride marches and protests around this time? BYU, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is one of the more conservative colleges in the United States. How so? Here’s one example: It took the school until 2007 to clarify that experiencing same-sex attraction would not result in expulsion from the university. Yes, 2007. The story didn’t end there, however, as the school later clarified that same-sex relationships were still banned. This resulted in some LGBTQ+ students leaving the school altogether. 

Mind you, the march on June 28 was not officially sponsored by the school. In fact, BYU has not yet publicly addressed the event. Even still, according to LGBTQ+ outlet them, it’s estimated that 1,000 LGBTQ+ folks and allies participated in the event. What makes that number even more amazing? Organizers of the event have remained anonymous and advertising for the event was scarce, though an Instagram post gained some serious attention.

“I expected there to be far less people,” Stacey Harkey, a speaker at the event who attended the college themself, told them in an interview. “And when I arrived to countless masses of supportive individuals it gave me so much hope for the future of the queer community.”

Adrienne McKell told student newspaper The Daily Universe that she recently came out as bisexual and was attending the march with her husband, Jake. “We’re excited to represent both BYU and the LGBTQ community,” McKell, who graduated from BYU in April, told the outlet. 

One marcher named Kendra spoke to the Salt Lake Tribune and explained: “We are here and we are proud to be here to show support for people that are in a hard place and in a weird situation with their sexuality.”

So, how did the march go? According to reports, it was peaceful, and no counterprotesters appeared. The Tribune reports that police blocked traffic for participants. Marchers, who held affirming signs, were instructed to walk on the sidewalk for the duration of the march. They finished the march at Kiwanis Park (several blocks from campus) where they danced and hung out. 

You can check out some moments from the parade below, courtesy of Twitter.

Did you attend a small or new Pride event this year? Feel free to share your experience in the comments!