The following article is the opinion of the above author. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the editors and staff of The Pace Chronicle.

In the grand scheme of Social Justice Week, one would hope for a genuine, meaningful effort from student organizations to elevate marginalized voices. Unfortunately, the Programming Board’s event featuring a screening of But I’m a Cheerleader followed by a yet-to-be-clarified workshop with the Office of Sexual and Interpersonal Wellness (OSIW) feels like a lazy, performative attempt at engaging in queer advocacy— and frankly, it is disappointing.

Let us start with the glaring issue: the lack of transparency and communication. The event description on SetterSync is nothing short of misleading, offering no hint that this screening is tied to Social Justice Week or any collaboration with OSIW. The page simply invites students to “Come watch But I’m a Cheerleader with us!” That’s it. To get the full picture, including the fact that this is meant to be a Social Justice Week event, students have to sift through the Programming Board’s Instagram page— an unnecessary extra step. For an event supposedly promoting social justice, how hard is it to be upfront and clear about your intentions?

What’s worse, the Programming Board did not even bother to get a queer person to present or moderate the event. For an event about queer experiences, you would think they would involve someone from the community, right? Nope. Even more baffling is that there was not any collaboration with the LGBTQIA+ Center or Pride at Pace, the actual LGBTQ+ club on campus. If you are going to put on an event meant to support and uplift queer voices, wouldn’t you naturally turn to the existing group that has been advocating for queer students on this campus for years? That is Advocacy 101. Failing to bring in the voices that this event is supposed to highlight doesn’t just feel tone-deaf; it feels performative.

And that leads to the elephant in the room: What, exactly is this workshop supposed to cover? There has been no information provided leaving students in the dark. How are students supposed to engage meaningfully when they do not even know what they are getting into? It is not hard to see this event as an afterthought, slapped onto the event to give it a veneer of depth.

Then there is the movie choice itself. Don’t get me wrong— But I’m a Cheerleader is a fun film, and it’s even considered something of a queer cult classic. But let’s be real: it was made with straight audiences in mind. It presents queer identity in a way that is palatable to heterosexual viewers, offering up a sanitized version of the LGBTQ+ experience that says, “See, gay people are just like you!” It is the Love, Simon of lesbian movies—  a safe, accessible, and frankly unchallenging story. While there is a time and place for that kind of film, this is not it. In the context of Social Justice Week, why not select a film that challenges the norm and centers on authentic, raw queer narratives? This is not just lazy; it is a missed opportunity to present queer identity in a more nuanced, radical, and educational way.

The whole thing reeks of a “food-and-film” approach to social justice. They did the bare minimum to say, “Hey, we did something!”— but in doing so, they reduced queer advocacy to a movie night. It is not only frustrating, it is insulting to those of us who expect better from an event under the banner of social justice. Instead of lifting up the DEI clubs and making space for actual queer voices, this event pandered to a majority straight audience, hitting the most superficial of marks.

If the Programming Board had done nothing, it would have been better than this. At least then, there would not be the illusion of engagement, nor the frustrating realization that their efforts were half-hearted. This event as it stands, feels hollow. And frankly, that is not good enough.